Queens of the Court
by hodgsondr
Summary: The Generation of Miracle dominated the basketball courts during their middle school years, but they were not alone. The female basketball clubs were rocked by a team of players that far surpassed their counterparts and continue to do so during their high school years, only now the team known as the Queens of the Court wanted to play harder teams than they faced. T for language
1. Queens of the Court

"So, who do you think will win?" Shira Tamiko chattered excitedly, wriggling in her seat as she peered towards the court excitedly. Seirin and Touou were still warming up on the court and her leg was beginning to bounce up and down excitedly. The movement caused her whole body to begin shaking and her long blue hair bounced excitedly in it's pony tail.

"Seirin, they haven't lost a game yet," Ishimura Yuki yawned before elbowing her team mate in the abdomen, "and stop bouncing will ya? You're gonna make the whole bench break."

"Oops, sorry, I just want to play," Shira shrugged as she gained control over her leg. A few seconds later it began bouncing however, and Ishimura tried to stifle the groan rising in her throat.

"Doubtful. Touou is unrelenting in their play and even without their new ace, the team is exceptionally gifted." Both Shira and Ishimura looked towards Takami Annaisha as she gave them an answer to Shira's earlier question. Neither were aware Takami was paying any attention to them, as she had her eyes glued to the screen of her phone as the game hadn't begun.

"But what about Seirin's first year duo?" Shira pushed, leaning acorss Ishimura to get closer to Takami. Ishimura shoved her back before turning her whole body to Takami, partly to block Shira from leaning forward again and partly to gauge Takami's reaction.

"Yeah, what about Funny Brows and Mister Invisible. One flies and the other disappears."

"Kagami Taiga hurt his leg while playing Shutoku," Takami reminded the pair as she looked up from her mobile. She glanced to the court for a moment, narrowing her eyes as she scanned Touou's side. The group had missed the last game and Takami was irritated as she found their captain's game play fascinating. Ishimura snorted as she slumped back in her chair, her eyes training in on the red head that was standing and glaring towards his opposition. She always placed her bet on Seirin, she couldn't explain why exactly, but she had to admit she was feeling uneasy for them.

"Hey, w-w-we're not late are w-we? Oh good." A sudden voice from their left caused the trio to look. Saka Kiko was walking towards them, one arm full of a variety of food and a smile beaming on her face. Her gaze was focused on the teams on the court, her gaze switching quickly between Seirin and Touou. Behind her loomed all two hundred centimetres of Jo Kida, the giantess having her hands stuffed deep in her pockets and her expression irritated.

"So, I'm guessing no coach then," Ishimura muttered with no real point. Saka shook her head sadly whilst Jo rolled her shoulders back in irritation.

"I tried calling her three times but she didn't pick up."

"Wow, and you call me tsundere," Ishimura growled, only to recieve a hit to the back of her head by Shira. Ishimura let out a yelp before turning to return the favour, only to shrink back when Jo gave her a pointed glare. Their friend was irritated and if Ishimura and Shira managed to get themselves into a fight - again - she would be in an even sour mood.

"We were just wondering who would win, what do you think Kida-san?" Shira questioned, leaning towards the teen who had just sat next to her. Jo shrugged her shoulders again, slumping so she could lean her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes. Her legs cut off the aisle in front of them, her knees resting against the balcony barrier in front of them.

"Touou," she replied after a few minutes of silence. Ishimura nodded, taking the hint that their friend didn't want to talk at all and instead she looked around to get a glimpse of Saka. The girl was a year younger than they were, still finishing her last year of middle school, but they all knew her well. No doubt Jo made a detour to accompany Saka to the match and that's why the pair were late.

"Kuroko's passes won't work once Aomine Daiki arrives," Saka said quietly, looking up to Shira after feeling her gaze. Shira blinked twice at her before looking to the court. Something in the back of her mind stirred as she remember attending one of Teiko's games. They had all been amazed by these miracle passes that occurred and Takami had been quick to point out a small boy who seemed to continuously disappear from their line of sight through out the game. Ah, Shira thought as she looked back to Seirin's team, so that's why Takami didn't think Seirin would win.

"If the ace is anything like I think he is," Jo chipped in, not moving from her position but opening her eyes at least, "then he will know everyone of his passes."

"You really think that? I mean, he wasn't on court a heap towards the end of last year," Saka pointed out but Jo just let out a laugh. Cracking her neck around she changed her position quickly, leaning forward and resting her hands on her knees (which had pulled back towards her), her eyes focusing on the light blue haired player gently bouncing the basketball.

"Doesn't matter. Once it's in his instinct to catch the pass, Aomine will catch the pass." Shira looked back to the court, chewing her lip with worry. As much as she relished a good match, she enjoyed watching Seirin win even more. Her knee stopped bouncing up and down as the whistle blew for the teams to line up. There was something in the air that was dangerous.

...

"What a fucking disappointment," Ishimura muttered, her fingers netted behind her head as she strolled out ahead of the group. She was sour, and down fifty dollars courtesy of Takami, and she wanted everyone to know. Shira walked beside her, arms crossed over her chest as she looked up to the roof, deep in thought of once. Her instincts about the game had been right and part of her wished she hadn't watched.

"Not a surprise though," Takami muttered as her fingers pumped against the keypad of her mobile. No doubt she was filling Coach in with the details of the match. Ishimura looked back, her eyes narrowing as she thought about the match she had just seen.

"I forgot how much I fucking hate him," she hissed before smacking her forehead. No one needed to ask about whom she was talking about, there was only one player who irritated her beyond belief.

"I-I-I'd forgotten about what i-i-it's like to watch him play," Saka responded in a whisper. Jo shrugged her shoulders for the upteenth time that day before stopping where she was. Something to her far right had caught her attention and her eyes widened slightly before narrowing dangerously. Grapping Shira's ponytail and yanking the teen back gently, Shira followed her gaze.

"Holy shit, didn't think they'd be with one another," Shira murmured as she watched the green and gold haired duo walk out, both deep in thought. Jo raised an eyebrow and looked to the others who had all stopped and looked to where she had been staring as well.

"Seirin still has two games, they will be wanting to win," Jo pointed out and Ishimura clapped her hands together with a sinister grin, completely forgetting her earlier resentment for a moment.

"Oh I cannot wait, that should be some good stuff. Hey, we're coming to all the games right?"

"Is the sky blue?"

"No, it's a -"

"Takami, stop talking."


	2. Captain Meyer

"Those losses made me hurt," Shira muttered, almost only to herself, as she bit at her water bottle's mouth. She'd gone to watch Seirin's matches, but the team recieved a thrashing both games. Ishimura had stormed off during the last game halfway through, muttering about how useless the boys were and how they shouldn't have been so disheartened by their loss to Touou. Shira almost felt sorry for Ishimura, the girl lived and breathed the victories of Seirin and to see them get disheartened would have pissed her off more than anything.

"How would you know?" Kazuki Katsuo let out a laugh, eyeing his friend in earnest. He had played against Seirin early on and the team was completely thrashed. Shira looked to him for a moment. Although Kazuki's team had finished basketball for the year, he wasn't overly upset about the fact. She could still hear him beaming through the phone after his loss to Seirin - he had been pissed off with Ishimura unsurprisingly - about how he had next year to get to the finals.

"Know what?"

"Hurting from the loss of a game," Kazuki laughed again. Shira blinked twice, letting his words sink into her mind. Losing, the word seemed foreign to her and the emotion definitely wasn't one she had felt before. The closest she came to it, like Ishimura, was when they watched Seirin fall from the pedestal they had carefully crafted themselves.

"I guess I don't."

"There's no guessing about it Tamiko. We don't know how to lose a game." Shira and Kazuki both jumped and turned around quickly, seeing that Meyer Victoria had walked into the gym. Her grey eyes lingered on Shira for a moment, seemingly wondering if she was interrupting something before she walked over to the pair. Shira raised one eyebrow at her friend, wondering why she was late for her usual time but didn't press the matter. Why Meyer was late, only Meyer knew.

"See, at least one of you Queens gets it," Kazuki teased, poking his tongue out. Meyer laughed, shaking her head at him as her eyes shonefor a moment. Uh oh, Shira thought, I know that look.

"And you, my dear Katsuo, don't know what it's like to win." In return to her sly, and only slightly true comment, Kazuki grabbed Shira's bottle and flicked water towards Meyer. She laughed again, easily dodging the waters trajectory before wrapping her fingers around his wrist. Before he could react she'd snatched the bottle from his hands and emptied the contents on his head.

"Ah, Meyer, it's cold," Kazuki whined as he shook his head, splashing water droplets onto both Meyer and Shira. Shira squealed in irritation, kicking the back of his knee annoyed but Meyer just laughed again.

"Such slow reflexes for a basketballer," Meyer tsked but she broke into another laughed when Kazuki shook his head at her. Nodding his head back to the door that had just opened, he notified them to the arrival of Jo and Takami. Meyer looked over her shoulder to her team mates, nodding slightly, before looking to Shira.

"Suppose we should start getting ready. You staying to watch Katsuo?"

"Hmm, you're offering to let me stay and watch five beautiful girls get all hot and bother playing basketball, what do you think my answer is?"

"We'll meet with you at Maji after practice," Jo commented as she walked past Kazuki, clamping her hand on his shoulder. Kazuki looked up to her, smiling feebly before looking back to Meyer and Shira who were stifling laughs. No matter how many times he attempted to watch them practice, Jo would always chase him off before long. At least Ishimaru was running late today, he didn't have to listen to her grumbling about Seirin's loss consistently.

"Nice talking to you Jo, you're always the charmer," Kazuki called after the tall centre, only to hide behind Meyer when she stopped and glared back at him. Meyer laughed again, unlatching his hand from her shoulder and looking over her shoulder up to him.

"You know, if you're going to hide behind someone it should be Tamiko, she has a good four centimetres on you," Meyer pointed out. Kazuki nodded only half paying attention to what she said, but he had to admit she was right. Meyer was the shortest girl in the basketball team, standing at one hundred and sixty four centimetres and a good twenty centimetres under Kazuki. He had always thought, the first day she had come up to speak to him earlier in the year, that she looked quite short and cute compared to him and his basketball friends, until he saw her next to Jo. He had never met anyone as tall as her and she made him look tiny.

"Yeah but Shira-chan would hand me over like that," Kazuki clicked his fingers before laughing, "but I also know when I'm no longer welcome. I'll meet you at Maji's later." His last comment was directed to both Meyer and Shira, but he continued his gaze towards Meyer. He couldn't help it, not because he was attracted to her but because there was this thing residing in her iris'. He'd noticed it slightly at the beginning of the year but whatever it was had grown larger throughout the year. Nothing physical of course, but there was something. It bugged him.

"We'll catch you later Kazu-Kun."

...

Kazuki didn't know what possessed him to go to Maji burged early. Hell, most of the time he left ten minutes after the time they were meant to meet because the girls had a tendency to over train. But there he was, standing in the line at Maji burger, trying to think of something to eat, when a stack of what seemed like a thousand hamburgers was brought to the counter. He was staring wide eyed at the meal when someone walked past him. He recognised the hulking figure and the red hair, and when the teen turned around Kazuki immediately placed his face.  
Kagami Taiga. The last Kazuki had seen of him, Kazuki had been desperately trying to block any form of attack he was administering. He could still see the ferocious look in Kagami's eyes, although now he looked rather gentle and not all to ferocious. Kazuki was still confused as hell about his eyebrows though.

His eyes followed Kagami as he sat down and dove into his stack of burgers, munching happily and looking up occasionally to say something. Kazuki frowned before stepping out, looking to the seat across from Kagami. His body stiffened as he recognised the blue haired teen sitting down, sucking on a shake. Kuroko Tatsuya. That kid haunted Kazuki more than Kagami had, the deadpanned expression pinning him with terror. He'd rather face a wrathful Jo than... actually he probably wouldn't.

His feet began moving before his brain gave him permission to do so. He didn't know why he was heading to the pair, well a part of him did, deep down. He wanted to talk to the pair, offer words of comfort for their loss, encourage them to do better, something. Damn Yuki, I'm hanging around her way too much.

"Hello." Kazuki snapped out of his thoughts as he heard someone speak to him. Looking to his left he saw Kuroko looking up to him with that expression. It creeped him out a little but Kazuki smiled to him nonetheless. He would hate to think of Ishimura's reaction if she thought he had been rude.

"Hi, you play for Seirin?" He didn't know why it came out as a question but he didn't want to seem weird. Of course, walking up to them while they were in the middle... wait was something going on? They were here, just the two of them, they weren't... were they? Kazuki felt his cheeks begin to flush as he thought he might be interrupting something, but Kagami put the burger he had been eating down, narrowing his eyes to Kazuki.

"You look familiar," he commented, still looking at Kazuki. The latter let out a chuckle, raising his hands and nodding. He felt slightly more comfortable. If he had interrupted something, they probably would have told him.

"I'm from Iwozuka, you played us earlier in the year. Well, we played, you just destroyed," Kazuki laughed again. Kuroko was blinking at Kazuki, attempting to remember who he was but Kagami's lips pulled into a big grin.

"I remember, it was one hundred and three to fourteen. An easy game, we didn't even..." Kagami cheered before letting out a scowl. He glowered in Kuroko's direction, who looked as though nothing happened and continued to look up to Kazuki.

"I apologise, it wasn't-"

"Don't worry about it. I mean basketball is fun but we're not the main team. It did hurt at the time though," Kazuki added the last part mainly for himself but it was obvious Kuroko had heard. His eyes lowered for a moment as though he was trapped in a memory from a while ago, but Kagami was just sitting there staring at Kazuki in confusion.

"What do you mean you aren't the main team?"

"You don't know?" Kazuki almost choked out, but then realised exactly why. As far as he knew, Seirin didn't have a female basketball team so Seirin would have had little contact with Iwozuka outside of the male basketball club. Smacking his hand to his forehead, he wondered how pissed Ishimura would be if she was here. Lucky she wasn't. Kagami looked like he was about to press the issue when Kuroko leant forward, capturing Kazuki's attention.

"I believe we have not introduced ourselves properly. I am Kuroko Tetsuya," Kuroko said simply, shuffling further towards the window and giving Kazuki a look that said 'sit down'. Kazuki heard Kagami mumble his name and looked to see he had devoured the burger whole in the time that Kuroko had spoken. Kazuki slipped into the booth beside Kuroko, wondering how he was going to tackle explaining them.

"Kazuki Katsuo," Kazuki offered before letting out a sigh. He shook his head, a smile playing on his lips as he looked between Kuroko and Kagami. "I can't believe you don't know about them."

"Who?" Kagami frowned, his left cheek full of food and his eyebrows furrowing together again. Kazuki pulled his head back slightly as his gaze landed on those split brows before glancing to Kuroko.

"Iwozuka's female basketball team. The Queen's of the Court." Kagami let out a laugh and Kuroko looked like he was as equally confused. Shaking his head, Kagami stopped when he noticed how serious Kazuki was.

"The girls are better than the boys?" he prodded, putting down the burger he was about to bite into. Kazuki laughed, but it wasn't light hearted like usual. He sounded dark and cynical, the sound was strange even to himself. He could feel Kuroko's intense gaze on him but he ignored the little player as he focused on Kagami.

"There is no team better than them. It's as simple as that," Kazuki muttered, leaning against the chair, "and easily hell of a lot better than Seirin." It was almost as though Kazuki was eliciting a challenge, poking and scratching at Kagami's freshly broken ego. Kagami narrowed his eyes dangerously, his lips pulling back over his teeth as the words bounced around in his head.

"What makes you think a bunch of girls can..."

"They've been in the same team as each other for the past seven years and have been undefeated every time. The Queens of the Court have never lost a game." Both of the teens were leaning towards one another. The news of the girls accomplishments seemed to hit Kagami like it was a fly. Of course Kagami wouldn't take the girls seriously, even after hearing that, no one did until they saw them play. Kazuki didn't until he saw them play.

"So what, that's in the girls tournament, up against us..."

"Their centre is two hundred centimetres tall, they have three three-point shooters who can shoot from the centre line with near perfect accuracy. One of their players can pick every injury, every weakness, all tiny details about her opponent within minutes of playing them. Their captain has a stamina that lasts longer than any game she has ever played and she's quicker than you could ever imagine. On top of that, their game play is completely unpredictable. So yes, Kagami-San, if the girls were up against Seirin it would be an easy game, just not for you."  
Kagami was staring at Kazuki. Kuroko was staring at Kazuki. Kazuki felt as if everyone was staring at Kazuki. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that Kazuki realised that there were more people staring at him. Well, two people. Shira and Ishimura were standing about a metre away, looking at the trio, Shira with interest and Ishimura indifference. Something must be under her skin.

"I think that's the only time we're ever going to hear you say something nice about Jo, Kazu-kun," Shira laughed as she walked over. She nestled herself on his lap, grinning broadly to both Kuroko and Kagami. Ishimura hesitated for a few moments before slipping into the booth, almost shouldering Kagami to the side to fit. She did not look impressed at all. "I'm Shira Tamiko, the Power Forward for Iwozuka, and that's Ishimura, our Small Forward."

"Kuroko Tetsuya."

"Kagami Taiga."

"We know," Ishimura sounded incredibly irritated and didn't spare a glance up to the pair. Instead she began eyeing up Kagami's hamburgers with a glint in her eyes. Kazuki wondered how long it would take until Ishimura's hand would itch out, snatching one away without Kagami realising what had happened. Speaking of the red head, Kagami seemed quite surprised by Ishimura's angry quip. I wonder how long they were standing there for.

"Is it just you two?"

"Nah, the others are ordering and Saka will be meeting up in a minute. She played today, y'know," Ishimura commented, visibly brightening as she began talking to Kazuki. Shira was still looking at Kuroko out the corner of her eye and for a few minutes the five of them fell into silence. Kuroko seemed completely unfazed, Kagami was shuffling as he was now stuck in the seat and he settled on eating his hamburgers instead, Shira seemed to be deep in thought and Ishimura was watching the girls at the counter with interest. They weren't hard to spot, except for Meyer, and Jo was stopping down to talk to the girl behind the counter.

"Kazuki-San was telling us that you are all exceptional players." The silence was broken by Kuroko and Shira and Ishimura both looked over to the quiet, unnoticeable boy. Only Shira had noticed him straight away, and no doubt Ishimura would have too. Ishimura raised one eyebrow.  
"That's because we are."

"As you can see Ishimura is very modest."

"It's true," Ishimura retorted with a kick to Shira. It was meant for Shira at least, but she actually hit Kazuki instead. Shira let out a cackle, poking her tongue out at Ishimura who looked as though she was about to burst and start yelling profanities at Shira but shrunk back when a new presence was near them. Kazuki hadn't seen her walk over but she looked as though she was irritated, much like Ishimura had been earlier.

"Don't," Meyer warned before she sucked at the straw pocking out of her shake. Her grey eyes shifted from Ishimura, who twitched uncomfortably, to Shira, who pouted and rolled her eyes, before landing on Kazuki. Tilting her head, Meyer's brows pulled together as she saw that Shira was using him as a seat. "Tamiko, get off Katsuo."  
Shira slipped out from the booth obediently, pulling Kazuki up with her. The latter stumbled slightly, almost falling into the taller girl but he managed to steady his feet. Ishimura huffed as she too slid out of the booth, glowering at Kagami as she did so - she must have heard part of the conversation before then - and stomped over to where Jo and Takami were waiting at the door.

"Decide to shift training to the court then huh?" Kazuki commented and he pulled his sleeve out of Shira's grip. He flicked Kagami and Kuroko a small, genuine smile before walking over to the group of girls, almost hesitating when he caught Jo looking at him with furrowed brows. Shira and Meyer were about to walk over as well, but were brought back when Kagami drew their attention. At least the weird, choking noise would have come from Kagami and not Kuroko.

"Kazuki-Kun said your team was good, better than Seirin. Prove it, let's play a game," Kagami challenged, standing up. Shira looked to Meyer, who pulled the straw from her mouth and looked at Kagami with those scrutinizing grey eyes. Shira was glad she wasn't on the other end of them.

"No."

"No?"

"Do you want me to repeat it in English? Maybe French," Meyer scowled, "no we will not play you."

"Why not?" Kagami looked genuinely puzzled, as though he couldn't comprehend why Meyer was saying no but she had already turned to walk away. His eyes narrowed and Shira could almost see the cogs in his mind churning as he tried to think of something. Shira shrugged and followed after Meyer but only for a moment before Kagami thought of something. "Are you afraid you'll lose?"  
If there was one thing that Shira knew not to do with Meyer, is that one should not try and provoke her. Especially if it was something about basketball. Meyer seemed to freeze mid step, her foot hovering just above the ground as Kagami's eyes floated around in her head. Shira instinctively stepped to the side, not wanting to catch a corner of the words that would be coming out of her mouth. Slowly Meyer turned, her eyes seeming to grow darker than their usual grey as they narrowed in on Kagami. Shira could see him twitch backwards, even if it was ever so slightly, and she tried not to laugh. Even though she was easily a foot shorter than Kagami, Meyer had this presence when she was irritated that evoked danger.

"My team won our interhigh championship, Kagami Taiga, I do not see Seirin even making it to the finals," Meyer bit back with irritation, spinning on her heel and stalking off. Shira followed, not even glancing back at Kagami and Kuroko. Meyer had made her decision, and it was one that even Ishimura had come to as well. After their disastrous game play at the semi-finals, Seirin was not of interest to Iwozuka High.


	3. Team Player

"Got to admit Kazu-Kun, you were very generous talking about us," Shira commented as skipped alongside Ishimura, looking back over her shoulder to Kazuki. Meyer shook her head crossing her arms over her chest as she looked to the side. She was displeased about the episode earlier in Maji, though Shira didn't know why. Meyer had no problem with people knowing they were good - as Kazuki had put it exceptional - so why was she getting irritated?

"You should have least told them that only one of the three-point shooters can play them continuously," Meyer muttered under her breath. Kazuki didn't hear her, he was distracted by a car driving past, but both Ishimura and Shira had heard her. Ishimura looked up to Shira as if to say 'that must be why' before they both turned to look ahead. They weren't sure if Meyer wanted them to hear what she had said or not, so feigning they hadn't would be best for now.

If there was one thing that the duo had learned from their years - and there were quite a few of them - was that Meyer hated it when any of them talked themselves up more than they could accomplish. True, Kazuki hadn't lied as such when he'd told Kagami and Kuroko that there were three of them capable of making a shot from the centre line, but in Meyer's mind the fact he hadn't added that Takami was the only shooter who could keep making shots like that relentlessly wasn't much better.

"So why the sudden change of heart for playing at the court any way?" Jo shouted over her shoulder. She could see Meyer easily and the shorter girl was scowling at something or other. Jo almost laughed, when wasn't Meyer scowling recently? Looking ahead, she saw Saka was already waiting at the entrance of the court, looking at whoever was already playing.

Jo strained to get a look at who ever had caught Saka's interest, and the air sucked in between her teeth as she caught sight of the man running around by himself on the court. He didn't look like he was overly enjoying himself, wincing every now and then but continuing to play none the less. Oh, this should be ineteresting.

"H-h-h-he's been here for a w-w-while," Saka whimpered when they were within earshot, her eyes not leaving his form. Her cheeks were already flushed and Jo would have laughed, if it weren't for the face Saka was clearly quite nervous. Ishimura was already muttering angrily underneath her breath, her eye narrowed and her head tilted down slightly. She was never happy when she saw him because of how he played. "H-h-hey, Meyer!"

Meyer began walking towards him, completely unfazed by the fact he looked more than just slightly irritated. He probably hadn't seen them yet, well he may have seen Saka while she was waiting but Jo couldn't have been sure. He looked very serious about playing just then. Nonetheless, when Meyer was within three metres of him he pulled the ball down instead of taking his shot, his dark navy eyes sliding to look at the girl before him.

Meyer was probably a surprise for him. She wasn't particularly tall, standing almost a foot underneath his looming height, and her features were rather delicate. Although she had grown up in Japan, she had no heritage that belonged to the place and had a rather western appearance. Most days if she walked somewhere she wasn't used to, she would be mistaken for a tourist.

"Yo," Aomine Daiki said slowly, looking at Meyer with confusion and holding the ball between both hands, turning the leather sphere around gently. Meyer flicked her gaze from his face to the ball, to the hoop, then back to his face.

"We were going to practice on the court." Aomine raised one eyebrow at the tiny girl in front of him, although to be fair she was taller than Satsuki. Taking the ball in his right hand, he held it a little higher than his own head, smirking slightly. She amused him, if nothing more, by asking - no telling - him to get off the court. Yeah right.

"I'll get off, if you can knock the ball..." Aomine didn't finish. She bent her knees until she was almost crouching and suddenly straightened herself up, jumping through the air with a surprising amount of height. Her right hand began reaching for the ball, but Aomine couldn't lose this easily and he pulled the ball to the right, only for the leather to leave his palm. When she landed on the ground again, Aomine could see she had grabbed the basketball with her left hand instead. Clever girl.

"I never did say you had to get off the court."

"Tch," was all Aomine managed before he yanked his ball back. He didn't like her, whoever the hell she was, but part of him was interested in sticking around to watch their 'practice'. His eyes slid to the fence, expecting to see more girls like her, but what he saw almost made him step back. One of the girls was leaning against the fence, but he could already tell that she would have been taller than he was, whilst another would have made a close height. The girl standing in front of them would have been the shortest of them all. Was she their manager?

"Do you want play with us? Three on three?"

"Huh?"

"I'm Meyer."

"Aomine."

"So, three on three Aomine?" Meyer pressed again. She reached out suddenly, snatching the ball from his hands and spinning it on her middle finger. Her eyes didn't shift of his face though and he let out a sigh, rubbing his neck. Momoi had been pretty certain that he shouldn't be playing intensive basketball and he did feel as though her owed her after making her cry and all, but these girls wouldn't be that intense right?

"How about one on five?"

"Stick with the three on three and see how you go," Meyer laughed but there was a hint of irritation in her tone. By this time the rest of her team - and Kazuki - had made their way over to the pair. Ishimura looked more than just slightly annoyed now as she had picked up where this was going. Jo was looking at Meyer out the corner of her eye, one eyebrow raised as she tried to the think of what Meyer may possibly be trying to do by asking Aomine to join them. Then again, he had been instrumental in the defeat of Seirin.

"You're Aomine Daiki," Shira beamed, stepping forward and quite close in his personal space. Meyer tilted her head, wondering if she was trying to intimidate him or attempting to flirt. Most likely it was going to be a bit of both. She was just under his height as well, so she was looking him straight in the eye by lifting her heels of the ground slightly. "We caught the game where you played Seirin, it was an interesting game. Not as intense as Kaijo though."

Aomine seemed to raise his head as he heard her words, his eyes seeming to brighten up as he thought of those two games. The emotion was fleeting though and before long he expression returned to boredom. Ishimura clicked her tongue unimpressed with the teen in front of her and tilted her head, pulling Shira back with her glower. Shira did step back, but whether she succeeded in whatever she had been attempting to accomplish was only known to her.

"Three on three. Kida, Annaisha and Kiko, you guys play against Aomine, Yuki and Tamiko. Katsuo and I'll ref," Meyer smiled, throwing the ball back to Aomine. Although they had brought their own, she had already been holding his so it was obvious she intended to play with it. If Aomine was against that idea he didn't say anything, just bounced the ball twice before looking around. He had absolutely no idea who he was playing with or against, but the girl who was almost his height, and her grumpy looking shorter friend, walked over to them. The shorter of the two was fixing her long fringe into a red bandana that had previously been around her wrist, and when she caught Aomine's eye she curled her lip up slightly.

"Ishimura, and don't think you can just run and gun by yourself," Ishimura spat unhappily. Shira hit her head and shook her own before smiling at Aomine. She wasn't sure whether she was please to be playing with him or irritated she wasn't going to get a chance to play against him, but she was probably on this side to make sure Ishimura didn't hit him with the ball on 'accident'.

"Ignore Yuki-Chan, she gets cranky easily. I'm Shira Tamiko. You'll be starting, considering you have the ball and all," Shira laughed before she looked to the other three. Jo was, unsurprisingly, watching Meyer walk over to Kazuki with an irritated look on her face. Saka looked downright terrified, her eyes as big as saucers as she stared at the hulking figure of Aomine, someone she was about to go up against. Her cheeks were even redder than before and the colouring was starting to spread up to her ears as well. Takami had her phone out, her fingers punching in the buttons at amazing speed.

"First to fifteen wins!" Kazuki called from the side of the court and he blew his whistle. Aomine stayed where he was as Ishimura pulled back, preparing for a defensive play if necessary. Shira moved to the left side of the court, scrutinizing where Jo, Saka and Takami were standing. Jo was back, standing just outside of the three point line to the left, whilst Saka was standing right in front of the three point line. Takami hadn't moved, her fingers still working the key pad furiously. This should be interesting.

"You have half an hour otherwise," Meyer added before Kazuki blew the whistle again. Aomine started dribbling the ball, watching the three in front of him before he broke forward. Saka matched his movement but he easily avoided her, dribbling to the right. Shira almost smacked her hand to her forward when Takami didn't even look up from her phone, only making a half assed attempt to reach out and get the ball from Aomine. Saka had managed to recover though and was chasing the tanned bluenette down the court, but by the time she managed to catch up to him he was already in the three point line. Jo was standing in front of him, her arms out wide and not letting him get any closer to the net. She towered over him and he couldn't seem to break past her.

"Aomine, here!" Shira shouted, attempting to get his attention. He didn't even look her way, instead pulling back from Jo, taking three steps before making a shot. Shira wanted to hit him, there was no way that was getting past Jo. With ease Jo leapt into the air, her fingers snatching the ball up. While she was still in the air she passed the ball to Saka, but Aomine was already on the move.

Shira heard Saka shriek as she saw Aomine running towards her and she turned tail and ran, dribbling the ball fast. She managed to make it to the center line before Aomine was in front of her. Saka made some sort of frightened noise before bouncing the ball backwards between her legs, catching Aomine completely off guard. Jo was close enough behind Saka to scoop the ball up. Pushing forward, she focused her eyes on the basket at the end of the court. Aomine flicked his eyes to Jo, ready to cover her when Shira jumped in front of her. Stretching up high with her left arm and stretching out with her right, Shira didn't take her eyes of Jo's hands.

"Aomine, stay on Saka." She heard a grunt of a reply and she looked, only for a moment, to him, ready to snap at him to play properly.

"Shira, damnit!" Ishimura shouted from the three point line, Shira looked back to see Jo jumping, her hand position moving to take a shot. Shit, if she takes a three pointer already they're screwed. Shira shot up through the air, her hands in front of the ball as best as she could manage. Jo shifted her gaze to Shira, smirked and looked back to the hoop.

"Your pet didn't listen," Jo murmured. Shira frowned before she watched Jo's hand suddenly shift to facing to the right. Flicking her fingers the ball soared down, right into Saka's hands and she was already gunning for the three point line. I am going to kill him, Shira thought as the pair landed. Aomine was chasing after Saka, but the moment she reached Ishimura she leapt in the air. Throwing the ball to the far left of the court, where suddenly Takami was standing, phone out of the way and already in position.

Shira groaned deep in her throat. This game was already over and she knew it. As soon as the ball was in Takami's hands she was in the air, releasing the ball merely seconds later. In a perfect arch the ball soared, landing with a nice swoosh into the basket and Kazuki let out a short, sharp whistle.

"Nah, fuck that! Fuck this! I'm not playing any more! He's a dumbass!" Ishimura roared. She was stomping towards Kazuki and Meyer, leaving the five on the court staring at her. Saka gently picked up the ball from where it had rolled off, trotting over to Aomine with her head down. Takami was right back on her phone, texting god knows who, and was slowly making her way to Meyer. Ishimura's outburst definitely killed whatever mood they were playing with and Shira had to admit she was disappointed.

"Y-y-your ball, A-aomine-Sama," Saka stuttered, holding Aomine's ball up to him. He turned to her, raising one eyebrow and murmuring a 'hmm' before taking it from her. Saka all but scurried away from him, her face beet red and her head still down. Maybe one day she'll be able to look a guy properly in the eye when she isn't focused on basketball. Jo was still standing beside Shira, looking down at her as though waiting for Shira to walk over first. They shared a glance that ended with Jo leaving, her hands behind her head.

"Ah, sorry about Yuki-Chan, she's, well, you're not exactly a team player," Shira wasn't sure if she was apologising or accusing Aomine. A bit of both probably. Aomine managed a 'tch' sound before turning, taking a shot at the basket. "And I can see that her outburst is hurting your feelings, truly."

Shira returned to the group. Kazuki looked genuinely disappointed the game was over already, but Ishimura looked like she was about to blow a casket so he didn't dare say anything. Meyer was watching Aomine playing by himself, her expression completely blank. Something was nagging in the back of Jo's mind, telling her that the small game that included Aomine had nothing to do with training the girls at all.

"Guess we should get going then," Kazuki offered, smiling at the group of girls with a sunny beam. Ishimura scowled, shoving passed him and stomping down the street. Shira quickly feel into step next to her friend, neither looking back at their team. They never did, and they never needed to. Their good byes were silent, simple glances at each other.

Takami nodded to the group curtly and left the court, crossing the street and disappearing down an alleyway. Kazuki watched her go before looking down to Saka. The girl's face had finally calmed down after speaking to Aomine, but the red flared up again when he elbowed her gently in the arm.

"Come on Ki-Chan, I'll walk you home." Saka nodded curtly, following after him as he walked out onto the street, turning left and walking away. Jo saw that he bumped his arm against hers a few times, a cheeky grin plastered on his face as Saka's ears were growing redder.

"He'll kill her doing that one day," Jo commented as she and Meyer began walking down the street. Although they were going the same way as Shira and Ishimura, the duo had turned down the first street and would have disappeared completely from sight by now. Jo and Meyer walked in silence, Jo digging her hands into her sleeveless jumper and looking up to the sky, whilst Meyer looked straight ahead. "Are you going to tell me what that was about?"

"What?"

"That game," Jo sighed, stopping on the sidewalk and waiting for Meyer to do the same. She didn't stop until she was three strides away, then looked over her shoulder, half her face in a shadow. "It wasn't about us, was it? You wanted to see how Aomine would match up against only three of us."

"Did I?"

"Cut the bull shit Meyer, I know you too well. Are you going to explain what the hell is going on, or are you going to keep me guessing?"

"If Kagami Taiga wasn't injured, the outcome could have been completely different in their match," Meyer replied after minutes of silence. Jo smacked her palm to her forehead, rubbing at where the mark would be incessantly. Of course, she's thinking about the match that she didn't even attend. She didn't even go to Seirin's matches after that and she wouldn't tell any of them why.

"And we care about that why?"

"Because at the Winter Cup, the outcome will be different."

"How do you know?"

"Because they'll want to win more than now," Meyer shrugged her shoulders before turning to look ahead. She began walking again, leaving Jo standing where she was. The taller teen growled before letting out a sigh. Meyer had been acting weird all year, actually she'd been acting weird since the beginning of the year before. During their last year in middle school, she had been training Saka outside of practice and wouldn't tell Jo what was going on. Hell, Meyer had only played in two quarters of each game since their second year of middle school with no apparent reason, and then this year she missed their first game completely.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Jo muttered under her breath, watching her friend walk away. This feeling was beginning to unsettle Jo. She felt as though she was constantly standing in one place, watching as Meyer walked on ahead and away. It made her uneasy.


	4. The Hot Head

"You were rude to Aomine back there you know Ishimura," Shira mumbled as they trailed slowly down the street. Ishimura was clicking her tongue, still reeling from the game they had played earlier. Ishimura didn't reply, just stomped her feet slightly harder on the ground. Her sour mood was getting worse, but Shira wasn't entirely sure what had set her mood off. Sometime during practice at Iwozuka, Ishimura had turned completely down. That was why they left to go to Maji, only there they found Kagami and then Aomine. She didn't even get a chance to get something to eat because 'someone' had ordered all the waiting burgers and... "Where the hell did you get that?"

"Kagami," Ishimura choked back through her mouth full of burger. Shira had no idea where the girl had pulled it from and frankly, she wasn't that desperate to find out.

"I don't remember Kagami offering you a burger, Yuki-Chan."

"He didn't," Ishimura muumbled as she sunk her teeth into the burger bun. Shira grimaced as she began chewing, having too much of a mouthful and not being able to seal her lips together. Looking up to the sky, that was shifting from blue to orange as the sun was setting, Shira wondered what was going to happen now. Part of her had wanted to beg Meyer to let them play Kagami, well Seirin as a whole, but the way Meyer had spoken had been absolute. Which was strange, really, because Seirin would prove to be a strong opponent even if they were defeated by Touou.

"You know, we could have had a fun game if you didn't snap."

"I didn't want to play with Aomine."

"You could have put your prejudice against him aside and..." Ishimura stopped, her brows furrowing together as she glared at her friend. Shira only noticed after she couldn't hear the happy humming of her friend munching on the burger, turning on her heel and looking to where Ishimura was standing. Her eyes slid to the burger for a second, her eyebrows raising when she saw there wasn't much of it left.

"I don't want to play with Aomine, Tamiko," Ishimura repeated slowly, her mouth completely empty of food. The expression was similar to the one she'd had on her face right before she was set off back at Iwozuka, her pupils slightly dilated and her nostrils flared, but now her cheeks were slightly rosied. Ishimura crumpled the burger into it's wrapper before stuffing it into the pocket of her pants - no doubt saving it for later - before reaching up for the red bandana that was holding her fringe back. She hadn't taken it down after their match, which was strange for her, and Shira was only noticing just now.

"What set you off at the gym?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Ishimura muttered as she wrapped her fingers around the red cloth, yanking it down to sit around her neck. Her eyes slid to the ground as she begun walking forward. Shira bit her lip, watching as her friends shoulders slumped unhappily and quickly followed after her.

"You know Yuki-Chan, if somethings going on, you can talk to the team," Shira offered but Ishimura shook her head. Crossing her arms over her chest, the latter pulled her chin closer against her chest, nuzzling into the bandana slightly. She knew Shira was only trying to help, and Ishimura was more than aware that her outbursts were unnecessary. It wasn't like she had meant to be get so angry at Iwozuka, or be so cold to Kagami or even call Aomine a dumbass, but her temper felt like it was on a short leash. How was she meant to talk to the team about what was troubling her, when it was the team itself?

...

Ishimura couldn't sleep. She pulled the blanket down from over her face and stared up at the dark expanse of her ceiling. She should have been tired, after splitting off from Shira she'd returned to Iwozuka and run the track until the sun had disappeared and then some. Her mother had pestered her about returning home late, her father had saved her some sushi because he knew she would be hungry and then her brothers had demanded she play tag with them. By the time she'd managed to drag herself into the bed, her feet were aching, her mind was empty and her feet were telling her she wasn't going to be walking for twenty five years. And yet, she lay there for what felt like hours, unable to fall asleep.

Sitting up she heard her back release a series of cracks. She stretched up high before throwing her legs over the edge of the mattress onto the ground. Standing, Ishimura's legs were holding her with ease, already forgetting that she had pushed herself earlier. Searching under the bed for her phone - a habit she had created in middle school so she wouldn't just hit snooze - she checked the time. It was a little after midnight and Ishimura thanked her lucky stars that tomorrow was a day off school.

Standing again she walked over to her cupboard, grabbing a loose hoody and clumsily pulling it over her head. She reached down for her trainers and pulled them on with little effort, not bothering to do up the laces and walking to the window. Her father wasn't too fond of midnight escapades but he wasn't the one to chastise her, her mother on the other hand would put bars on her windows and a lock on her door, muttering about how her 'precious little Yuki-Chan' shouldn't be doing anything after the sun went down.

Gripping the window frame tightly she pulled it up roughly, sticking her leg out and squeezing through. Ishimura could remember how much easier this was when she was in middle school, now it felt as though she had to turn herself into jelly to sneak out. At least her parents had given her the bedroom on the first floor. Stumbling on the concrete slightly, she turned and pulled the window back down, hearing it latch from the other side. Sneaking out through that window was easy, getting back in though she would have to come in through the back door. She had hidden a spare key in the boys turtle pond years ago, so she didn't have to worry about carrying keys around.

Pulling the hood over her head she ran to the gate that her mother had locked earlier that night and leapt up, grabbing the top easily and yanking herself upwards. At least her height helped her in this part of her escape. Ishimura kicked on the wood and flipped over, landing uneasily on her feet and almost falling on her face. She only just managed to gain her balance before cracking her knuckles. A nice midnight run should be enough for her to become sleepy and she started off with a small jog. She already had her track in mind, swing by the basketball court ten blocks away, head up towards Shira's house than cut through the small park and race back home. She should be home within the hour and hopefully no one wakes up and finds her absent.

Ishimura felt a smile grow on her face as she heard her feet slap against the pavement. She would have joined the track team years ago if she hadn't been so invested in the basketball team. It wasn't that she didn't love basketball nor that Meyer was adament she had to stay - in fact when Ishimura had been caught staring at the runners just before practice one day Meyer had tried to convince her to go join them - but sometimes Ishimura thought about quitting and joining a new team. Then she would be on the court and completely forget all desires about track.

The_ thump thump thump_ of a basketball hitting the ground caught her attention and Ishimura looked to the left. She was surprised there was someone else out at this time of night, well someone playing basketball that was. The court only had one light near the left goals, the other had been broken after an agruement between two testosterone driven teams, but it was enough for her to see the teen standing there.

"Hey!" The word flew from Ishimura's tongue before she had a chance to stop it. Without even thinking about it, she slowed down her job by the entrance to the court, catching herself on the pole making the space and swung herself in. By now Kuroko was holding the ball, watching her with almost blank eyes. Ishimura wasn't certain what she was going to say to him, nor did she know why exactly she had called out to him. She must have looked strange as well. Her pyjama bottoms consisted in whatever shorts she had been wearing that day, so she was still wearing her navy coloured three quarters from earlier, her oversized grey hoody (whose hood had slipped from her head when she'd heard the basketball) and a pair of raggedy trainers that had seen better days. She must have looked a treat.

"Good evening, Ishimura-San," Kuroko said as she approached him. Ishimura was surprised he still remembered his name but figured she must have been a little too rude. She scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she looked down to him, her eyes shifting to the ball to make herself more comfortable.

"What are you doing out so late for, Kuroko-San?" Ishimura mumbled before pointing to the basketball in his hands. "Bit late for practice, isn't it?"

"I am not the only one out."

"I was jogging, not standing alone in a court. Besides, I can handle myself if something were to happen. I'm more intimidating." Ishimura added the last comment meekly, motioning to the obvious height difference between the pair. Kuroko blinked at her before lowering her hands, still cradling the basketball carefully. "You didn't answer my question either, y'know."

"I was practicing." Ishimura reached out and gently pried the ball from Kuroko's hands. The teen seemed fragile, especially with the bags under his eyes, and Ishimura wondered if he'd simply lost track of time while he was out her. She turned the ball over in her hands, feeling how smooth the leather had turned before eyeing him up carefully. He had been more than just training, the ball was raw and pretty much useless now, the grip had be worn off.

"You can't train with a ball like this Kuroko-San, and I can't just let you stay here either. Something might happen to you," Ishimura muttered as she handed the ball back to him. She scratched the back of her head again, looking around to the street. There was no one around as far as she knew, and she had come out to get some exercise to tire her out. "Come on, I'll walk you to yours."

"That is not necessary, I am more than capable..."

"Eh, come on, I was going for a run anyway," Ishimura interrupted, slapping Kuroko hard on the back to push him towards the gate. She must have done so a little too hard because he stumbled, almost dropping his ball and looking back to her with slightly widened eyes. She shrugged her shoulders lightly as she mumbled an apology and jumped forward to walk beside Kuroko. he looked like he was going to object, but she shoved her hands deep in her pockets and leant her head back, catching a glimpse of the moon before it was covered by clouds.

"Ishimura-San, may I ask a question?"

"You just did."

"Meyer-San, she..."

"I don't know what Meyer said to you and Kagami, but it has nothing to do with me."

"You do the same, Ishimura-San. You speak with little honorifics."

"Huh?" Ishimura turned to Kuroko, one eyebrow raised as his comment caught her off guard. What the hell does anything have to do with honorifics? She stared at Kuroko for a few seconds. He seemed to be very polite, and if she thought about it every time he refered to someone he added honorifics, so that may be why he was asking."Meyer always seems to leave them off if she isn't talking to an adult. It's rubbed off on all of us, except Shira, she's pretty good when speaking to someone."

"Meyer-San, where is she from? She sounds, strange, when she speaks."

"She's lived in Japan pretty much all her life, but she was born in France because that's where her mum is from. Her dad grew up in Japan but is from America. Her little brother doesn't sound as, well foreign, as Meyer," Ishimura shrugged. Kuroko seemed to take her words in as they walked next to each other silently. Ishimura didn't mind the silence that much and part of her thought that Kuroko didn't mind it either. Part of her felt as though she should have asked how far away Kuroko lived, partly to have been polite and partly because she didn't want to be out all night if he lived an impossibly long distance.

Ishimura looked to Kuroko out the corner of her eye, taking in the teen next to her. She had always known that he was shorter than his team mates, but she hadn't expected him to be taller than Meyer, albeit not by a large amount. His expression was blunt, almost empty most of the time and his eyes were the same colour as his hair, pale blue. Ishimura wanted to reach out and pull on a strand just to see if the colour was natural or dyed like Shira's. He looked younger than sixteen as well, but there was something cute about him.

"Kagami-Kun was disappointed when Meyer-San said she would not let the team play Seirin," Kuroko mumbled when they were close to the lights. Ishimura jumped slightly in surprise when he spoke, catching her off guard, and then she frowned. Meyer refused to let the team play Seirin and they ended up playing Aomine briefly? What the hell was she thinking?

"What did she say?"

"She said that because Seirin did not make it to the finals, she would not play us. Meyer-San was rather angry with Kagami-Kun."

"He mention something about her being afraid to play him?"

"Yes, I believe he did."

"That would have been it," Ishimura laughed, "Meyer doesn't take kindly to people insinuating she fears losing." Kuroko stopped walking, causing Ishimura to match him. She stood quite still, waiting for him to begin walking again but he was frowning and watching her carefully. Ishimura raised both eyebrows before reaching out to gently ruffle his hair. "You tire yourself out playing ball? I can give you a piggy back if you want."  
Kuroko knocked her hand away, looking more irritated than tired. Ishimura let out a small chuckle and shrugged her shoulders, looking up the road and then back to Kuroko, waiting for him to begin walking again. She highly doubted he lived out the front of a primary school.

"I am not a child, Ishimura-San."

"I've carried Jo and Shira home from practice before, not everything is a dig at your size y'know."

"Jo?"

"Our centre, you would have seen her in Maji, she's not exactly hard to miss. Come on, I know tomorrow's a day off and all but we can't exactly be out all night. You're parents must be worried."

"I called my mother and let her know I would be out late, it should be fine."

"Kuroko, it's almost half past twelve." Kuroko blinked twice at her and didn't say anything, but he looked confused. Ishimura sighed, pulling her mobile out of her pocket and checked to make sure her mother hadn't woken and tried to call her in worry. There was no call, not even a message and her stomach settled happily.

"Come on, you really do need to get home because I do."

"I am sorry, Ishimura-San, for keeping you from your run. I am fine to make it home from here." Kuroko turned and walked away from Ishimura. She stepped twice after him, considering to follow him home anyway to make sure he didn't run into trouble, but when she looked down to her now buzzing phone, she lost complete sight of him.

"Huh," Ishimura muttered before clicking the accept button on her phone. "Hey Takami, can't sleep either?"


	5. Beach Match

"Tell me again, why are we at the beach?" Jo muttered as she tugged on her shirt. Meyer was walking along beside her, adjusting how her hat was sitting as she gazed up to the sun. She wasn't fond of the heat so much but didn't mind going to the beach. Jo on the other hand didn't like going to places that were bustling with people, she felt too self conscious of her towering height. Often she found herself slouching down to try and hide her height. Shira, on the other hand, was having the time of her life.

She was waltzing ahead, a shere, sleeveless white shirt protecting her back. Her bikini was bright blue and she had discarded her shorts almost as soon as they had jumped out of the car. her hair had been recently coloured into a light, bleached blonde (they all knew soon it would be some new ridiculous colour) and woven into a plait that wrapped around the back of her head in a spiral. Shira was grinning from ear to ear, chatting happily to Takami who had been roped into walking beside her.

"Because we have been refusing to come here for a while now and Shira has been begging us," Meyer replied simply. It had been two weeks since they had met Kagami and Kuroko at Maji Burger and played Aomine at the court. Meyer hadn't mentioned anything more about Seirin and Jo was too tired of trying to understand her to ask her anything else. They had been training nonetheless, continuously meeting up even though it was their summer holidays and Shira had been begging them relentlessly to enjoy a day at the beach instead of chasing after the ball on the court. Meyer readjusted the bag on her shoulder, looking around the beach for a spot for them to relax. Jo had to admit, the break from playing basketball was welcomed, she just wished that he hadn't trailed along with them.

Kazuki was trailing behind Jo and Meyer, walking inbetween Saka and Ishimura. Kazuki and Ishimura were in the middle of a heated debate, talking low and occasionally attempting to draw Saka into the conversation. Each time they did so, Saka's ears grew a shade redder. Ishimura looked strange, she was carrying a skimboard on her shoulders, wedged between the back of her head and her arms with the tips of her fingers peeking over the edge of the board. Why she didn't carry the damn thing like a normal person who knows. Jo didn't mind Kazuki most of the time, but she was always unsure of the circumstances as to why he was hanging around.

"Hey, is that..."

"KAGAMI-SAN!" Jo and Meyer snapped their heads up when they heard Shira shout loudly. She disappeared in a flurry of sand kicking up behind her as she bolted towards a group of people playing basketball on the sand.

"SHIRA GET BACK HERE!" Takami shouted, taking off after Shira. Jo glanced to Meyer, who sighed and shrugged, before the pair started running after Shira as well. Meyer could hear the trio stop arguing and follow them as well. Meyer pumped her legs, quickly leaving Jo behind and passing Takami. By the time she managed to reach Shira, it was too late to chastise her for disrupting a training session because there was someone getting irritated with Shira already.

The teen had short brown hair and was angrily snapping that Shira had completely disrupted a serious training session, that she should have waited for them to be done before coming over and that the players would not be please. Meyer, although she did not want to admit it, couldn't help but notice none of the players seemed to mind Shira standing before them in a bikini. She wasn't small in the chest area. Meyer was about to say something, agree with the teen that Shira was an idiot, before the stranger turned to her.

"You too, you shouldn't be here either. This is a training session for Seirin and you have disrupted their play!" Meyer shifted her eyes upon hearing Seirin. Although Kagami, as Shira had so loudly pointed out before, was standing there looking slightly confused, she hadn't been certain if it was the Seirin team or something extra that Kagami was a part of. "Are you even listening to me or are you..."

"Teppei," Meyer called, interrupting the searching for the brown haired boy. There was a shuffling before she saw him, he was beaming when he caught her eye and walked right up to her. She tried to jumped back but she was too late as his arms wrapped around her, picking her off the ground.

"Tori," he chuckled, shaking her slightly before letting her drop to the ground. Meyer growled up at him, narrowing her eyes before dusting herself off.

"I told you not to do that anymore."

"Sorry, sorry, I'm just pleased to see you!" Kiyoshi beamed happily. Meyer wanted to stay irritated with him but when he was smiling like there was a light shining out of his ass it was hard to stay mad. She rocked her shoulders back, letting out a huff and trying to hide her smile.

"Yeah well, good to see you up and around," Meyer mumbled under her breath before turning back to the girl who had been growling at her just moments before. She was now staring at Meyer with her mouth hanging open slightly, whether because of Kiyoshi's greet to Meyer or because Meyer had cut her off before she finished yelling at her. "I'm sorry about Shira, she's not exactly the most considerate of people."

"Sounds like her captain." It was clear that Meyer wasn't meant to hear his comment, because when her head jerked so she was looking straight at him Kagami's cheeks flushed and he stepped back from her glare. She was about to snap at Kagami and tell him off when Shira put her hand on Meyer's shoulder, shaking her head.

"Meyer's right, I didn't realise it was a training session," Shira's hand tightened on Meyer's shoulder as she flashed a dazzling smile, "so why not let us help train them? We could play a game!"

"I, uh, that's."

"Sounds like fun," Kiyoshi smiled but Meyer was shaking her head furiously. She elbowed Shira back as her eyes flicked to Kiyoshi before returning to the girl.

"We're not here to train. We're here to..."

"Have fun and what's more fun that basketball?" Shira cheered as she raised both hands in the air. She glanced back to Seirin, her eyes sparkling but Meyer was still shaking her head. Pulling the bag from her shoulder, she let it drop to the ground and Shira's towel spilled from the inside.

"If you want to play, fine, play," Meyer muttered before turning on her heel and stomping off towards the kiosk. Kazuki jumped out of her way, looking like he was going to follow after her but he didn't get the chance. Kiyoshi jogged lightly before falling into step beside Meyer, obviously attempting to talk to her. Jo frowned, certain that her friend had never mentioned that boy to her before.

"So, do we play?" Shira questioned, looking to Jo for confirmation. Jo looked back, shrugging her shoulder before she collapsed into a sit beside the mock court in the sand. Saka followed her lead promptly, her hair covering her face as she flushed a bright red. She was definitely not accustomed to being near such a group of sweaty, fit young men and she was starting to over heat a bit.

"Play all you want Shira, but I don't feel like it. I'll just watch"

"Dude, it's the beach. Water," Ishimura whined as she dug the nose of her skimboard into the sand. Takami looked between Ishimura and Shira, down to Jo before glancing to where Meyer had stormed off. She shrugged her shoulders, pulling her hat from her head and fanning herself for half a moment.

"I'll play, but only if we're allowed," Takami pointedly nodded towards the teen who was now standing flustered and looking slightly irritated. She was glaring at Kiyoshi's back, but there was something in her eyes that was more worry than anything else. She looked back to Takami, then to someone in the team.

"What do you think Hyuuga? Mix teams?" she asked. One of the players scratched his jaw, biting his lip. Takami tilted her head, looking him up and down. He was fit, as most of the basketballers were, and quite lean especially standing near Kagami. He wasn't overly tall like Kagami or Kiyoshi, but he was definitely taller than Meyer and perhaps the same height as herself. What she was most interested in though was his arms. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized him.

"I don't see a problem with it, as long as it's okay with you Coach," he replied, moving his glasses up his nose slightly.

"If we are going to play, I would appreciate Seirin playing Iwozuka." Takami let out a small shriek and jumped to the right, spinning in the air when someone spoke from her immediate left. She hadn't noticed anyone had walked up to her but she wasn't surprised when she saw it was Kuroko Tetsuya. She hadn't been privileged to meet him at Maji like Shira, Ishimura and Meyer, and she resigned to the knowledge that she probably hadn't given him the best of first impressions.

"Sounds like fun, I want to play them too," Kagami interjected, his eyes narrowing in on the now small figure of Meyer in the distance. Takami tilted her head to the side, looking to his legs. He appeared to be feeling much better than his game against Touou, but she wasn't completely sure if he was back to one hundred percent. Her eyes shifted to their coach. If he was here training then he must be better.

"The one you want to play just trotted off with your centre," Jo replied, pointing to Meyer and Kiyoshi with her thumb.

"Look, are you going to play or not? Because if you're not then we should go," Kazuki snapped. Jo looked over her shoulder with an icy glare, causing Saka to shrink down and Kazuki to step back twice. He raised his hands to show he meant no harm, but Ishimura let out a groan and stepped forward.

"Just get up Jo, first to fifteen should be easy enough."

"Wait, we can play two games. One mix, then one with Seirin versing us!" Shira cheered and Ishimura started reaching for her skimboard. Jo rocked backwards onto her back, placing her hands beside her shoulders before rocking forward, kicking herself into a stand. She may have also flicked sand back towards Kazuki, but it was completely by accident.

"This isn't our training, you have to check with, ah..." Jo trailed off as she realised that she hadn't caught the name of the Coach. Let alone any of the players who were now staring at her with slightly open mouths. She realised she was standing completely straight up compared to how she had been hunched before and she felt herself feel slightly self conscious.

"Aida Riko, and I as long as the team doesn't have a complaint then two sets of fifteen point games should be no problem."

"The problem's going to be the passing," Ishimura muttered under her breath, rubbing her temples. Shira looked like she was about ready to snap at all of her team mates as her leg started bouncing lightly. She was itching to do something and since the idea of basketball had entered her mind it was all she could think about.

"Nice to meet you Miss Aida-San," Shira waved her hand happily, "I'm Shira Tamiko. The giant is Jo Kida, the grumpy one is Ishimura Yuki, the silent one is Saka Kiko and the girl who has been looking your players up and down for the past few minutes is Takami Annaisha. Oh, that's Kazu-Kun, but he's not important."

"I'm only two inches taller than you."

"I'm only grumpy because you piss me off."

"You're the perverted one Shira."

"You make me feel warm and fuzzy when you call me unimportant." Shira ignored the comments that she recieved in return, looking to the Seiring boys expectantly. Kagami clicked his tongue, unimpressed and the rest looked slightly unsure of how to continue, or who should continue.

"I am Hyuuga Junpei, captain and..."

"The shooting guard of Seirin. Prefers right hand shots," Takami interrupted, her head still tilted to the side. Hyuuga made a strangled noise as he looked to Takami, his eyes growing wide as if he could not comprehend that she had picked his place straight away.

"H-how do you know?"

"Your right arm is slightly more muscular than your left, and your fingers are the tiniest bit thicker, and we attended almost all of your games."

"That's brilliant Takami, next you'll be telling us that his-" Ishimura didn't get a chance to finish because Jo smacked the back of her head.

"Don't be fooled by her sarcastic demeanour, she dragged us there," Jo commented. Ishimura's mouth fell open with a loud pop and she turned to her friend, glaring outright. Raising one finger and pointing at her angrily, Ishimura narrowed her eyes.

"Hey, you were the one who always detoured to make sure Saka would be able to come!"

"You were the one who threw a tantrum when they lost to Touou."

"Stay outta this Takami!"

"And then threw a tantrum when we played with Aomine."

"Shut up Shira."

"Wait, you played against Touou?" Kagami cut into their arguement, waving his hands to get their attention. Shira shook her head, pointing to Ishimura and cracking a very sly grin. Ishimura looked like she was about pick up her skim board and hit Shira over the head with it, so much so that Jo pushed her forward and stepped in front of the possible weapon.

"No, we played with Aomine. He was playing with me and Yuki-Chan when Takami scored. She blew a casket and called him a dumbass, ending the game." Shira grabbed Kagami's collar and pulled him in closer to her, making her eyes grow wide as she stared at Ishimura. Then, in a low whisper as if she were revealing the biggest secret in the universe, "she also stole your hamburger."

"You guys managed to score against Aomine and - wait you stole my hamburger?"

"Details that are unimportant, come on we're dragging feet, let's play. I'm captain and I choose Kuroko!" Ishimura shouted hastily, grabbing the bluenette's wrist and wrenching his arm high into the air (but not enough so that he was hurt). He looked genuinely surprised that she had chosen him straight away, and he was flattered if anyone could see the slight change in his expression.

"Fine, I'm the other captain and I choose Kagami-San!" Shira shouted in return, tightening her grip on his collar as if to threaten Ishimura away. Jo looked between the two, knowing that soon their glare against one another would start a fire, before glancing over to Aida.

"I'm going to apologise before hand."

...

The teams ended up being Ishimura, Kuroko, Takami, Saka and Mitobe against Shira, Kagami, Hyuuga, Izuki and Jo. Kazuki was more than happy to volunteer as referee, allowing Aida to watch the boys play against one another with new team mates. Ishimura grimaced slightly as she saw Mitobe try and match up to the towering figure that was Jo. Although before she had been apathetic about playing in the game, she looked completely in her element as Kazuki held the ball between them.

"Both teams ready yeah?" He mumbled, Aida's whistle (Kazuki promised to buy her a new one afterwards if she was grossed out about using it again) muffling some of the words. Shira gave a cheerful 'yeah' whilst Ishimura just nodded. Mitobe looked very slightly taken aback by Jo, but there was determination in his eyes nonetheless.

"Play ball!" Shira cheered happily as Kazuki blew his whistle, throwing the ball into the air. The English words rolled around in Kagami's head as his eyes narrowed in on Shira. He didn't often hear English spoken so clearly and he was momentarily distracted because of it. He was brought back to the game however when he heard the sound of flesh smacking hard against leather. He looked up to see that Jo had already gained the upper hand and the ball was flying straight for Izuki. Just before the leather sphere managed to be gripped in his hands however, Saka lunged forward, striking the ball with an open palm and sending it straight for Kuroko.

The bluenette was caught off guard by the ball suddenly coming towards him. Kagami would have thought it was funny that his friend had been caught off guard by a moved that mirrored one of his own, if Kuroko hadn't looked so startled. His hands were too slow to bring up to his face, but right before the ball hit him on the nose, Shira lunged forward. Her fingers pulled the leather ball towards her and she was leaping into the air.

"Jo, get us a three pointer!" Shira grinned, passing the ball through the air with a surprising amount of speed. Kagami watched as the ball soared, Takami just missing the interception by mere millimetres before the sphere was gripped tight by Jo. She jumped into the air, her eyes narrowing at the hoop at the end of the court and grimaced slightly. Bringing her arm back she sent it forward, adding power and losing in accuracy.  
Ishimura and Saka seemed to already know what was happening as they both ran as fast as they could through the sand, but they were too late. As soon as Shira's feet had touched the ground she had turned and sprinted towards the hoop. Kagami could only watch, a small lump in his throat as Shira jumped, somehow finding enough grip in the sand to propel herself up and catch the ball as it bounced off the backboard, slamming it into the hoop.

"It's not a three pointer!" Ishimura snapped with the tiniest hint of a grin but Shira just beamed, giving her team mate the thumbs up. Jo shook her head in reply, rubbing her shoulder and looking down to Kagami.

"Wipe the impressed look off your face, she'll never let it go," Jo warned. Kagami shook his head, before looking back to Shira and Takami jogging back. Kazuki had been right when he said the girls didn't need a game plan. There was no way that Jo could have planned having Saka intercept her hit and Saka had been expecting Kuroko to catch the ball, if the look on her face was anything.

Ishimura was standing under the goals, her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head. If Meyer was playing then she would just pass her the ball straight away, let her ditch it halfway down the court, but that wouldn't have worked anyway. Shira was against them, and she damn well had the two people that could accomplish a dunk on her team. Ishimura groaned as she dug her toes into the sand. The landscape was her biggest problem, although Shira wouldn't be dunking again. Ishimura saw how much of a struggle it was for her to get off the ground on that first jump, and she'd used all her power. Jo was still a problem though, there wasn't much difference between her and the hoop.

"Are we allowed time outs to talk to our team?" Ishimura tried but Kazuki shook his head.

"It's a fifteen point match, no point. Just pass the damn thing."

"Don't get cranky because we're better than you," Ishimura muttered in reply before pushing the ball forward. She was aiming for Kuroko but as soon as the ball left her hands she realised that it was probably going to be a mistake. She had mentioned it herself earlier, that this was going to be a problem, at least in the mix teams. The boys had no way of knowing where the girls were going to pass.


	6. Kiyoshi Teppei

_Tori's team played another championship today and won! She's really good!" Meyer's ears pricked up as she heard her brothers voice wafting from one of the rooms down the corridor. Smacking her hand to her forehead, she thanked her lucky stars their mum hadn't come with her to visit him today. Meyer had been beside herself when she had entered her little brothers room to find the room absent. He wasn't meant to be walking around, but of course, he never did listen to anyone. And of course, Meyer didn't want him to get into trouble so she had walked down every corridor, listening out for the little rat's voice. That was an hour ago, and she hadn't heard him at all, and now that she was on her way to the nurses station did she. In his corridor. She was going to kill him. _

_She heard a mumble of a question and waited to listen for her brother again. She wasn't too keen on knocking on every door to find him and she just hoped he wasn't bothering whoever he was visiting. There was a few moments of silence before she managed to catch his voice again. _

_"...tain, they all listen to her as well. Well, Yuki sometimes get's grumpy but she's really cool too! She has a funny hair cut too, it's all short around her head but her fringe is really long! Oh, I told you that already? Well she always has this bandana on her wrist that she uses during games, I don't know why though! Red, I think it's her favourite colour." Meyer was ecstatic that her brother was a talkative little thing because she found the room with ease. Taking a deep breath she rapped her knuckles against the wood of the door, waiting for an answer. _

_"Come in!" Came the overly cheerful reply and Meyer was slightly worried about what was waiting for her inside. Sliding open the door she stepped into the room and her gaze narrowed in on her brother. He wasn't sitting in a chair like she had thought he would, but was sitting on the bed. Not the end of it either, but up near the persons knee like they were good friends. This was even worse. There was a curtain blocking Meyer from being able to see how old this guy was, but she was preparing a lecture in her mind. She wasn't going to let some old pervert talk to her brother and let him sit on the bed that close. _

_"Hey Tori, I didn't know you were coming in today," Jean grinned cheekily, his eyes flickering to the door behind him, checking for any parents. When he realised there were none he grinned even wide, looking to the guy behind the curtain. "She looks angry."_

_"You're lucky I didn't tell the nurse you were gone," Meyer snapped before she had a chance to stop herself. She growled at her brother under her breath before walking towards the bed. A large hand wrapped around the curtain, pulling it back and she hesitated. The guy couldn't have been much older than her, with soft brown eyes and messy brown hair. He smiled genuinely at her._

_"I'm Kiyoshi Teppei, and it's nice to finally meet the famous oneesan I've heard so much about." _

_"Jean's been pretty tight lipped about you," Meyer replied as she whacked her brother on the side of his head. He let out a whine and went to grab one of his crutches, more than willing to hit her with it. Meyer was quicker, wrenching the object away from her brother and holding it out away from him._

_"That's because you'd tell mum and she'd freak out and call him a _pervert_," Jean complained, spitting the last word out in English. Meyer looked to Kiyoshi quickly, hoping he didn't understand what Jean had just said. He was either completely unaware or a very good actor. Meyer decided to ignore her brother and turned directly to Kiyoshi. _

_"I'm sorry if Jean's been bothering you, a lot of the time he has no sense of..."_

_"It's fine, really. He is rather good company, Tori."_

_"It's Victor- eh whatever Tori's fine, Teppei." Kiyoshi smiled, completely unbothered by the fact she had called him by his first name and without honorifics, which irked Meyer. She had fully intended to make him uncomfortable but he didn't look like he was going to - wait did he say Kiyoshi Teppei? Why does that name seem so familiar to her? _

_"Hey, I'm still here too you know! Don't ignore me!" Jean started waving his arms around in the air and tried to get their attention. Kiyoshi looked back to her brother, smiling as if to say 'keep going', which made Meyer sigh. Pulling the chair over with her foot, she collapsed into the cushions. Normally she wouldn't be sitting this close to a complete stranger, but her brother was sitting on his bed and she wasn't about to sit really far away. _

_"Jean's been telling me about the Generation of Miracles, and only figured out today to also tell me about the rest of your team." Kiyoshi didn't look bothered as Jean 'humphed', crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at Meyer. Of course, she had interrupted time with his friend, but hell would freeze over before she just left him alone. _

_"Yeah, I was telling him about Yuki. She's really fast, not as fast as Tori but pretty quick. She's really weird as well, like she calls her opponents by weird little nicknames instead of just saying the numbers on their jerseys."_

_"Most of the time the rest of the team calls them that as well, it makes it easier," Meyer added, not wanting her friend to seem like a strange person. Jean shot her an irritated look for interrupting him before turning back to Kiyoshi. _

_"Oh, but she's not as weird as Miko-Chan! Miko-Chan grew really tall all of a sudden, she went to England with her mother for a holiday and was shorter than Tori, and then came back and was almost as tall as Kida!" _

_"Yuki was furious Tamiko was taller than her, but I think Kida was relieved that she was almost the same height..."_

_"Tori," Jean whined again, leaning forward and trying to swat at his sister in fast little slaps. Meyer leaned back, raised one eyebrow and shook her head at him. She loved her brother, really truly loved her brother but most of the time she wanted to stick his head in a toilet and flush multiple times. She slumped back into her chair, watching as her brother began telling Kiyoshi all about Tori's team mates, which eventually lead into their matches. Meyer zoned Jean's chattery voice out of her ears, closing her eyes and listening to the muffled sounds of her brother talking. _

_..._

_Looking into her brothers room Meyer let out sigh. Why did she even both any more? She should just start heading to Kiyoshi's room straight away, the kid was going to be there anyway. She stuck her hands deep in her pockets, staring at the grey walls as she walked down the corridor, wondering how Jean was feeling this morning. Hotaka Sensei had called Meyer and told her Jean had been rather uncooperative in his most recent physiotherapy session and that he wanted to keep Jean in hospital for another week or so._

_"Thank my lucky stars for Teppei," Meyer muttered, rolling her eyes upwards before she knocked on Teppei's door. The door was wrenched open, Jean leaning against his crutch and grinning up to Meyer looking like he had just one a prize. _

_"I told him, I told him that you would be here in the next five minutes and you are! See I win Teppei, I win - where's mum?" Jean's voice changed from one of victory to one of confusion. He leant out of the door, searching up and down the corridor for any sign of their mother. Meyer reached out, ruffling her brothers hair gently before nodding out into the corridor. _

_"She was called into work," Meyer forced a smile. Jean looked up to her, blinking slowly before bowing his head. He pulled away, making his way back to Kiyoshi, who was holding a handful of cards and looking between Meyer and Jean with a slightly worried expression on his face. _

_"She's always called into work," Jean muttered, sniffing slightly as he collapsed onto the bed near Kiyoshi's knee. It was almost as though the preteen had decided that spot was his own. He picked up his own hand of cards but looked as though he would have preferred to be doing something productive. _

_"Mum can't help that she's the only one who..." Meyer trailed off as Jean made it obvious he was going to ignore her. Kiyoshi looked like he was slightly uncomfortable, well as uncomfortable as Kiyoshi could look. Jean threw a card onto the small table where the rest of the cards were lying and Meyer sighed. He wasn't going to leave this room, not until he really truly had to. "Hotaka Sensei called me, and told me you were being difficult in rehabilitation."_

_"I don't want to wear it. It's itchy and it hurts."_

_"He said that until you get used to wearing it, it's going to hurt."_

_"I like using my crutches."_

_"_Frérot_, please, you promised you'd try," Meyer tried again. She quickly looked to Kiyoshi, apologising deeply in her mind and hoping that he understood through her expression. He smiled back at her, nodding slightly as he folded his cards together. _

_"Jean-Kun, we can finish this game later, you should go talk to your..." Jean threw his handful of cards onto the table, shaking his head furiously. Kiyoshi pulled back surprised at the sudden ferocity that Jean displayed. Meyer reached towards her brother, gently rubbing the back of his head as he let out a choked sob. _

_"I don't want to talk to Tori, I want mum. I want mum to be coming here and telling me off for misbehaving in rehab, I want Hotaka Sensei to be calling mum to pass messages on," Jean sobbed. He grabbed his crutches and threw them to the ground, balling his hands into tight fists before rubbing his eyes. Kiyoshi's mouth was agape, one hand reaching out towards the frail boy sitting on the end of the bed. Meyer wasn't sure what to do, so she rubbed Jean's back as her little brother looked up to her with tear stained cheeks. "_Soeur_, why doesn't mum want to see me?" _

_Meyer wrapped her arms around her brothers shoulder and pulled him into a tight hug. It wasn't as though their parents hadn't come to see him while he has been in hospital, in fact their mother almost lost her job because she refused to leave his side until three weeks into his stay. Jean weakly put his arms around Meyer, burying his face in her shoulder as his body began to shake. _

_"Come on Jean, we'll talk in your room," Meyer smiled as she struggled to fight back tears. The last thing her brother needed was her starting to cry, considering Kiyoshi was starting to well up. She looked to him for a moment, mouthed 'I'll be back', before grabbing her brothers legs just under the thigh. He wrapped his right leg around her, his grip tightening around her as a fresh wave of sobs broke out. Meyer picked him up with a slight amount of struggle compared to usual. He wasn't as heavy as he used to be, but hanging around doing nothing in hospital was making him put on weight. She let out a sigh, knowing that they were never going to mention this again. _

_..._

"I thought you wanted to play basketball," Kiyoshi smiled to Meyer, trying to get her to talk. Meyer simply scowled into her drink. He had mentioned everything under the sun to her during the walk to the kiosk, and only now they were sitting at the tables did he bring up why she had walked away.

"I don't mind playing basketball."

"But you don't want to play with Seirin," Kiyoshi said, his smile dropping slightly. Meyer didn't say anything, just brought the juice to her lips and tipped the glass back. He sat there, staring at her for a few minutes in the silence between them before his eyes turned sad. "No, it's not Seirin. You don't want to play me."

"You know damn well why," Meyer muttered, slumping into the seat. She looked to Kiyoshi for the first time, properly looked to him and she felt unsure all over again. She clenched her jaw, begging him in her mind to not bring up before, but she knew there was little chance.

"The doctor gave me the all clear Tori."

"No, the doctor gave you a year worth of damage to your knee because you're so stubborn."

"And you think one game in the sand is going to make that all the worse?" Kiyoshi tried to smile again but Meyer shook her head. She sipped at her drink again, looking away from him.

"I know you really want to play with your team Teppei, but is basketball really worth all this?" she asked, her breath getting caught in her throat. Kiyoshi tilted her head to the side, his brown eyes not coming off her face. She refused to look at him. This was a recycled arguement, one they'd had many times over in his hospital room after he'd told her why he wasn't having surgery.

"I want to play with Hyu..."

"I know, you want to play with Hyuuga and this is your only chance, blah blah blah, I've heard fifty times over Tep..."

"So why do you keep arguing the point?" Kiyoshi demanded. Meyer slammed her drink on the table, clutching the glass so tight she felt like she was going to crack it. Breathing through her nose deeply, she tried to force her irritated and slightly uncooperative mind to bring the reason forward. Why did she always argue the point?Because her little brother was still in that damn hospital four times a week for physical therapy, or because she was terrified that Kiyoshi was going to cause irrepairable damage? No, the reason was she didn't see basketball as something to risk so much over, but she knew that to Kiyoshi this was so much more than basketball.

"Because I checked the schools contending in the Winter Cup and Kirisaki Dai Ichi is going to be one of your opponents."

"That doesn't..."

"It worries me. I don't think you were meant to come back from that so what is that Bad Boy going to do to make sure you don't come back again at all? He could do the same thing and injure your knee even more!"

"That's a risk but not for certain," Kiyoshi agreed. Meyer released the glass and threw her hands up in the air. Why, why, why did her little brother have to go looking for a new friend while he was in hospital? And why did he have to find this optimistic teddy bear that seemed to have no sense of self preservation?

"We're talking about Hanimaya Makoto, Teppei."

"He's an opponent like any other."

"He's a sadistic bastard who also happens to be a genius!" Meyer didn't mean to be so loud, especially on that point, and she couldn't help but notice a strange few looks her way. She bowed her head, letting her hair fall in front of her face before she looked back up to Kiyoshi. He eyes were soft and attempting to comfort her and she let out a sigh. Resting her elbow on the table, she let her chin collapse onto her palm. This was her brothers fault.


	7. Long Day

"Eugh, I'm beat," Jo muttered as she flopped back into the sand. Her body was aching, there was sand all through her hair, down her pants (courtesy of Shira) and she was completely covered in sweat. This was not how she imagined a day at the beach was going to go. As soon as Kazuki had blown the whistle for the end of the mixed team match, Saka had loudly declared that the Seirin versus Iwozuka match was going to have to wait, mostly due to the players being far too tired to play another game to fifteen points.

"Who knew casual beach basketball would be so competitive?" Takami groaned, sinking to her knees beside Jo. Takami had returned to fanning her face, which was now quite rightly flushed from the exercise. When Jo didn't reply, Takami gently lay her hat on her face, helping to protect her friend from the sun. Jo sighed a thank you, well Takami presumed it was a thank you, before letting her arms lay out as if she were being crucified.

"Your centre looks dead," Kagami commented to Shira, looking over his shoulder to Jo. Shira let out a snort, nodding before looking back to the rest of Seirin.

"To be fair, so does your shadow." Kuroko was lying face down in the sand, although his face was resting on Ishimura's towel. His arms were by his sides and if Shira couldn't see his back rising and falling, she would have thought he was dead. Hyuuga was sitting beside Riko as well, chugging down a bottle of water. "Eugh, I can't believe they won as well. Ishimura's not going to let me forget this."

The score between the two mixed teams had ended up being fifteen to twelve, the last goal going to Takami. Kuroko had pased the ball from Saka to her, although it was originally intended for Ishimura. The latter had been caught completely off guard and instead of catching the ball leapt to the side, the ball almost knocking her head from her shoulders. Takami looked just as surprised as Ishimura had but she caught it and immediately shot the winning three pointer.

"Ha, of course we won, we had Mister Invisible," Ishimura cheered, grabbing her skim board from where she had stabbed it in the ground, "now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go boarding." She bolted for the ocean, kicking up sand behind her as she did. Shira watched her friend, finding a grin stretched out by her lips as she watched Ishimura laughing to herself. They should definitely come to the beach more often.

"Hey Kaga-Kun, we should go swimming, bet I'm faster than you," Shira laughed, adding a wink to Kagami. His cheeks flushed the tiniest shade redder and Shira wondered if it was the wink, his nickname or both that made it do so. Shira was serious about swimming though, and even if he said no she was going in the water. Grabbing the bottom of her shirt Shira hiked it over her head, turning and throwing it towards Jo and Takami.

"What are those lines on your back?" Shira turned back to Kagami, seeing his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. She was confused about what he was talking about for a moment, before remembering the horizontal silver scars that were scattered along her back. Flashing him a grin, she turned around slightly so he could see them again, looking at him over her shoulder.

"Stretch marks. I grew all of a sudden in middle school and my body couldn't keep up."

"We reckon she looks like a tiger," Takami piped up from the ground, her fingers once again working at the keypad of her mobile. Shira laughed before turning to face Kagami.

"Hey, your name's Taiga right? We're both tigers!" she grinned before running towards the water. "Last one in's a dirty rotten egg!"

Kagami stayed where he was for a moment, watching at Shira sprinted towards the water. Koganei and Mitobe seemed to have decided they wanted to go swimming as well, and they trailed after her. He let out a light chuckle, looking back to see if Kuroko was willing to come in as well, but the latter looked like he still needed to catch up with some energy first. Kagami looked to Riko, who was in a deep conversation with Hyuuga, before running after the others.

"Huh," Takami muttered after a few minutes, pulling back from her mobile. Jo opened one eye, pulling the hat from her face and looking to her friend in curiosity. Takami very rarely reacted to whomever she was texting or whatever she recieved as a reply, but now she was staring at her mobile with a very confused look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just..."

"Ano, Jo-San." The pair looked over their shoulders to see Kuroko crouching behind them. His cheeks were still flushed quite red and there were beads of sweat rolling down his skin. He looked tired, almost as much as Jo. Without hesitation she put Takami's hat on his head before reaching into their bag.

"You look beyond tired Kuroko, here, drink this," Jo pulled out a waterbottle and handed it to him. He looked a bit surprised but opened the lid, gently drinking the cool water inside. When he pulled the bottle away he let out a small, contented sigh before attempting to hand it back. Jo put her hand up, shaking her head and motioning to the bottle. "You look like you need it more than me, besides I can just drink Meyer's."

"Thank you, Jo-San."

"Did you need anything else?"

"You played Aomine-Kun?"

"Yeah, sort of," Jo scratched the back of her head. She wasn't surprised that Kuroko was going to question the match, she had seen him look as surprised as Kagami when Shira mentioned it. The only thing that was surprising Jo was that it had taken Kuroko all this time to ask.

"And you scored against him?"

"Yeah, it was pretty easy actually. Ishimura was furious. He's not a team player." Kuroko was nodding but his eyes suddenly turned hard. Jo knew she had said something that hit home, so she gently hit him on the back, pulling him in to sit in between herself and Takami. "You don't have to sit all the way back there you know. You should be asking Takami about the game, she's the expert. I just throw the balls."

"Aomine was injured and disinterested in the game from the beginning," Takami said as soon as Kuroko looked at her. Which was surprising because she was back at working her mobile and hadn't even glanced Kuroko's way after returning to her phone. She sent whatever message she had been typing, looking to Kuroko with her dark, dark brown eyes. "Though I sincerely doubt if those factors hadn't been there he would have been able to do much more."

"Aomine-Kun is a difficult player."

"But he is only one player. Our team may specialize in a high level of team work, much like Seirin, but our singular specializations working together would make it far too difficult for a player like Aomine, or a team like Touou."

"Don't tell him everything Takami, when we get around to play Seirin he'll know our weakness," Jo laughed, reaching around Kuroko to poke Takami in the shoulder. Kuroko looked between the pair, smiling at their comradery. When Kazuki had first said that Iwozuka was the best, he feared the team would be like Teiko. He thought they were, when Ishimura and Shira almost got into an arguement and Meyer's coldness, but now he had changed his mind.

"Are you looking forward to the Winter Cup, Kuroko?" Takami changed the subject, gently placing her phone in her lap and turning to face the bluenette. Kuroko blinked at her before nodding.

"I am looking very much forward to the Winter Cup, only..."

"Only what?"

"I wish to greatly improve my skill, and there is little time between now and the Winter Cup."

"If you aim to improve your skill you will, you won't notice it at the start. Just pick something you want to do and stay with it until you manage to use it perfectly," Takami smiled, reaching out and ruffling his hair. Kuroko almost pulled back but relented and let her do so. He knew she was trying to comfort him and she pulled her hand away quickly anyway. Kuroko brought the bottle Jo gave him to his lips again, taking a mouthful of water. They trio fell into a silence after that. Jo laid back down onto her back, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, relaxing into the sand. Kuroko watched his friends in the water, by now most of Seirin had entered to cool of. Takami's fingers were itching for her phone but she left it on her lap, looking out to the water.

"Ano, Jo-San, why does Meyer-San not want to play Seirin?" Kuroko questionned after a while. He didn't recieve a reply straight away, but Jo opened her eyes and looked up with frowning eyebrows. She was mulling over his question, trying to think of a reason why Meyer had left after Shira had suggested a game.

"I don't think it's that she doesn't want to play Seirin, I think she doesn't want to play you yet." Jo sat up, pulling her knee to her chest and looking up the beach. Kiyoshi and Meyer were walking back to the group, Kiyoshi carrying a large cardboard box in his arms. Meyer had known him before today and Jo was certain she hadn't seen him play at all this year. Was this the game change that Meyer had been talking about? "I think, Kuroko, after the Winter Cup, you'll have your game."

...

"Jean, you home?" Meyer called out as she walked in through the door. She was more than happy to be home, her body was begging for her to collapse into bed. She and Kiyoshi, more her though, had bought the two teams iceblocks to eat after the game. There hadn't been another mention of Kirisaki Dai Ichi, nor of Hanimaya Makoto. Not that they had a chance to talk about it afterwards anyway. Shira had all but bolted out of the water and up the sand, snatching up an iceblock and munching happily. Seirin swarmed the pair as well, leaving Meyer cursing her small height as she was enclosed with wet, shirtless boys all standing at least ten centimetres taller than her.

"I'm on the xbox!" Jean called from the loungeroom. Meyer kicked her shoes off at the door and walked into the loungeroom. Jean was lounging on the couch, his eyes not moving from the screen even though he had heard her come in. He was playing some shoot'em'up and looked to be in the middle of a boss battle. Meyer smiled at her brother. Since he had been released from hospital he seemed a lot happier and he, for once in his life, was looking forward to school every day. Unfortunately he was still being difficult for Hotaka Sensei.

"Mum and dad been home?" Meyer questioned as she walked into the kitchen. Jean paused the video game and pulled himself up, looking at her over the back of the couch.

"You just missed them. They're at some dinner or something."

"Mum must be happy."

"She wanted to drag me along. You knew, didn't you?"

"Why do you think I was more than happy to go to the beach with Shira?" Meyer laughed. She and Jean both felt sorry for their mother. She could only speak French and English and whenever she tried to speak Japanese the words rolled around funny in her mouth. Her father didn't always take their mother to his work functions, knowing she would feel lonely and uncomfortable with not being able to understand what people were saying, but he also struggled with not inviting her because she loved to dress up and go out. It was a bit of a vicious cycle really. "You should have come with us, because guess who I ran into today?"

"Am I going to care?" Jean laughed as he fell back onto the couch. He didn't press start on his game though, meaning he was interested in what she was going to stay. Meyer grinned again, running to the couch and looking over the back rest at him.

"Teppei."

"What? No fair! He's my friend first!" Jean groaned, sitting up again and trying to smack her. Meyer laughed, pulling away and skipping back, poking her tongue out at her brother. He was very possessive over Teppei with her and Meyer very rarely teased him about it, but she really felt like irritating him today.

"He was with Seirin, training for the Winter Cup. We hung out with them all day."

"Oh come on, you're bullshitting me!" Jean whined, swinging his leg over the edge of the couch and grabbing his crutches. He stood up, leaning against his crutch as he turned to Meyer. She grinned again, poking her tongue out and waving her hands by her ears. "You're not. Ugh, that's so unfair! You hang out playing basketball and I get a miserable mum!"

"Hey, I offered and you said no."

"Yeah but if I'd known we would have run into Teppei, ugh, no fair!" Jean whined again, walking around the lounge and heading into the kitchen. Meyer followed after him, her hands behind her back as she kept grinning.

"Well, next time come along. The girls love it when you join us."

"Yuki steals all my food."

"It's a sign of love," Meyer laughed. Jean rolled his eyes and reached up to the top cupboard. He pulled down the cookies their mother had tried to hide, passing one back to her. Over the past year he had grown taller than her, just shorter than Takami now. Meyer felt her heart drag a little as she reached up and pushed his head down. Her little brother was now taller than her and still growing. He wasn't meant to ever be bigger than her.

"Stop doing that, I'm not going to shrink," Jean mumbled through the cookie in his mouth, knocking her hand away. Meyer rolled her eyes, attempting to think of a comeback before she turned around to go to her room. She felt Jean wrap his arms around shoulders and she had a moment to brace herself as he jumped on her back.

"Jean what the hell are you doing?"

"I want a piggy back to the couch!"

"Get off, you're too heavy!"

"You can carry Kida-Chan!"

"Kida doesn't need to lay off the cookies like you do!"

"Hey, you eat more than me!"

"I can!"

"My arms are tired." Meyer growled. Jean knew that excuse was the one thing he could say that would make her carry him to the couch. She grunted a fine in response and slowly trudged back into the lounge room, irritated that her brother had her wrapped around his little finger. Though it wasn't just his injury, it was her own guilt that made her do whatever he asked most of the time. At least he didn't abuse it. Much.

"You really are getting too big for this," Meyer muttered as she stopped in front of the couch. Jean fell from her, collapsing on the couch and almost bouncing back off. He flashed her a rather please grin before picking up the controller.

"Maybe I'll carry you around soon." It was a reply he would always give her when Meyer complained about him becoming heavier but as soon as the sentence was finished she could see the fear grow in his eyes. He set the controller back down on his stomach, blinking as his eyes hazed out the world around him. Meyer shook her head, sitting on the couch beside him and ruffling his hair like she always did.

"You know, if you actually did something in rehab, you might be able to."

"I told you," Jean whined again, kicking his right leg up and slamming it back down, "I don't like wearing it!"

"Don't complain to me then. I'm gong to bed anyway, you can't stay up too late."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Jean reached for his controller and immersed himself into the game. Meyer shook her head as she walked to the stairs, glancing at her brother once before going upstairs. Before she reached her room she fished her phone out of her pocket, glancing at the screen for a moment. There were no new messages and she was glad for that. The day hadn't ended particularly well.

Kagami had made some off-handed comment that only Ishimura managed to catch, and whatever it was must have been bad because she ended up chasing him down the water line, swearing like a sailor and trying to hit him with her skim board. Meyer had to chase her down, and when she managed to get Ishimura to come back, she found a severely stuttering and blushing Hyuuga as Shira was, for some ungodly and no real reason, not-so-discretely proposing the pair go home together. To make matters worse, Kazuki and Saka had disappeared off to god knows where and Riko looked like she was going to kill all of them. Well, it hadn't ended bad for everyone. Jo had ended up with Kuroko on her shoulders, helping him dunk the ball into the hoop.

"Not exactly the greatest impression," Meyer muttered as she stuck her phone back into her pocket before opening the door. Her bedroom was the smallest out of all of them and used to belong to Jean the year earlier. Hers had been the second largest down stairs, but it was easier for Jean without the stair so she insisted they switch rooms. Most of her stuff had trouble fitting in the room and it was a lot more cramped than it used to be, but she didn't mind that much. She mostly came into her room to sleep.

Walking over to her bed she sat on the soft mattress, lying back and staring up at the roof. Kiyoshi had asked her what they were planning to do during the holidays in terms of training, and Meyer had to admit she wasn't sure. After all, it wasn't like they needed to push training consistantly like the other teams. They all kept themselves fit without the training and whenever they did train together, they didn't do a whole lot most of the time.

Meyer jumped about a foot in the air when a blood curdling scream errupted from her pocket. Wrenching her phone out of her pocket, she glowered as she realised that Ishimura must have gotten to it at somepoint and turned it off vibrate. At least it wasn't a loud series of rather sexual moans this time, courtesy of Shira of course.

"Hello?"

"Victoria, it's Ai." Meyer almost dropped the phone. Katsumi Ai, the captain of Shutoku's female basketball team and probably the only person who could hold her own against the Queens. She wasn't upset that Katsumi had called her, in fact she was often the one opponent that Meyer looked forward to playing.

"It's been a long time, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I'm going out on a limb here and assuming you have no plans for training over the break?" Meyer could have laughed. For someone who was her opposition, she was far too knowledgable of her habits. That was probably why Meyer liked her so much, for a team that was so unpredictable Katsumi was pretty good at assuming where the ball's going to go.

"You know me too well Ai."

"Yeah, could you imagine if we played together?" Meyer heard laughter from the other end and she couldn't help but grin herself. There was no way in hell either of them ever considered playing with one another. They had to be against each other, there was no other way to play. "Anyway, that's not why I'm calling."

"I presume it has something to do with training?"

"Every year, the Shutoku teams go to the mountains to train. Some old tradition or some shit, I don't really care."

"That's really interesting Ai, but why are you telling me?"

"Victoria, both Shutoku teams are going. You do remember who's on the boys team right?" Meyer rubbed her temple, trying to think back to Seirin's matches earlier in the year. She had missed the game where they played against Shutoku, so she wasn't entirely sure who was on it. Ishimura would have said something about it though, so she wracked her brains. She remembered Ishimura gushing about Kagami's jumping skills and how he seemed to fly through the air, but who did she say he was jumping against? "You can't be serious right now, you don't know?"

"I missed that match," Meyer tried feebly as she tried to think of the name. She couldn't remember for the life of her. "Who is it?"

"The Shooter from the Generation of Miracles, Midorima Shintarou." Meyer's eyes grew wide for a moment before she settled back down. She had always been interested in Midorima's shots, hell he had inspired the girls to learn how to shoot three pointers from so far back, and she had always wanted the chance to thank him for it.

"Midorima, well it would be interesting to meet him, even if only briefly. You said they were going for training though, I wouldn't want to..."

"I'm friends with one of the guys on his team, I'll talk him into getting Midorima to meet you if you want."

"Appreciated. I'll let the girls know. When are you going?"

"We leave in two days and we're there for two weeks. I think the boys might already be there but I can't be sure honestly. I'll text you through the details. See you there hopefully." With that the line went dead and Meyer pulled the phone from her ear. She probably should let her parents know soon that her plans for summer vacation were going to change, but they wouldn't be too fussed. She would just have to mention basketball training camp and her father would be more than happy to organise it all for her. Her phone buzzed with a message from Katsumi and she laid back on her bed, staring up at her roof. This was going to be a lot of run around just to talk to Midorima.


	8. Midnight Meet Up

"I had a feeling I would find you here." Kuroko looked up to see Ishimura standing at the entrance to the court. He stopped bouncing the ball and held it quite firmly as he looked over to the hoop. The game earlier that day had tired him out, but he felt as though he needed to come to the court and practice some more. He felt as though he was falling behind. "Jo told me you're worried."

"I would appreciate it if you keep that to yourself, Ishimura-San. I have yet to tell my team how I feel," Kuroko replied. He turned to the hoop and attempted to shoot a goal. The ball bounced off the ring and flew to the side. Kuroko let out a sigh as he moved to collect the ball, but Ishimura had come inside.

She ran past him, bent her knees slightly to scoop the ball from the ground before turning. She jumped almost delicately into the air and flicked her hand, sending the ball flying through the air. It sunk into the basket with a small 'swoosh' and bounced towards Kuroko.

"You should have told them already, if you're out here at all hours."

"It is not that late tonight, Ishimura-San."

"Yeah, it's after ten, that's late for anything. Well, except studying," Ishimura laughed as she scratched her head. She didn't move closer and Kuroko picked the ball off the ground. He focused his gaze on the hoop and tried again. The ball bounced away from the backboard and Ishimura ran again. She was faster than Kuroko had expected her to be. Instead of shooting at the basket she passed it back to Kuroko, gentler than she had earlier that day.

"Did you come here looking for me?"

"Make it obvious did I?" Ishimura laughed again as she walked towards Kuroko. She was glancing towards the hoop, but when she reached the bluenette she looked back down to him frowning. "Take another shot."

Kuroko did as she asked, aiming for the basket. This one was closer than the last but it still bounced away. Ishimura stepped to the left twice, stretching her arm out and catching the ball before it could bounce. She rolled it around in her hands before looking to the hoop, still frowning.

"You look confused, Ishimura-San."

"It's just..."

"I am not very good at basketball." Ishimura looked to him, her eyes growing wide with surprise. She passed the ball back to Kuroko, scratching the back of her head.

"It's not that."

"You are not denying it."

"There is no one way at being good at basketball," Ishimura replied. She crossed her over her chest, letting out a huff before she glanced to Kuroko's hands. Whatever she was thinking she kept it to herself as she pulled her bandana from her wrist with one tug. Wrapping it around her neck she tied the back before pushing the red cloth up, pushing her fringe out of the way. Kuroko could see her face clearly and he was very surprised at the colour of her eyes. They were green, not quite the same colour as Midorima's but darker, like wet moss. She looked younger as well.

Ishimura was about to say something else to Kuroko when her phone started buzzing. She jumped slightly before pulling it out of her hoodies front pocket, thumbing the phone open before holding it to her ear.

"Yo, Shira, what's - whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down! What do you mean you're going to get killed? A giant - you're making no sense what's pocky got to do with this? Hello? What the hell - scratch that where are you... Akita? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN AKITA... I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW THAT! NO I WILL NOT COME TO AKITA ARE YOU INS... THEN BUY HIM NEW POCKY!" Ishimura started to look even more agitated as the conversation grew. Her eyebrows furrowed together and she started pinching the bridge of her nose, her voice growing louder with each sentence. Kuroko couldn't help but smile at her, she was rather amusing in an unconventional way. "No, I will most certainly not transfer money into your account... THEN PROSTITUTE YOURSELF! Yeah fuck you too."

Kuroko was very curious to know what Shira had been saying to her but Ishimura shut the phone with a snap. She shook her head before looking to Kuroko, delivering him what looked like to be a tentative smile.

"It sounds like Shira-San is in trouble."

"She'll be fine, she gets herself into shit all the time," Ishimura shook her head but ended the sentence with a laugh. She looked back to Kuroko then to the hoop. "You shoot your hoops funny."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know exactly, you just look awkward when you try to shoot, like your body doesn't like how you're trying."

"Would you be able to help me then, Ishimura-San?" Ishimura rubbed the side of her neck, biting her lower lip. She was staring back at the hoop again, trying to figure out the way Kuroko moved. He did look awkward trying to shoot, but this wasn't something she could be that helpful with. She was used to training someone who already knew how to move, not trying to help someone find that key.

Takami would be a lot more helpful with this, Ishimura thought as she looked back to Kuroko. He looked so hopeful, well as hopeful as he could look she guessed. Either that or she was just pushing his emotions higher in her mind because she felt bad about not knowing what to do.

"I don't know, but I would have to lean towards no," Ishimura admitted. There it was, that defeated look in Kuroko's eyes as the ball lowered slightly. Ishimura felt her heart tug and guilt wash over her.

"But I could help you practice lay ups. They're easier than direct shots."

"I have difficulty with lay ups."

"If you're going to blame your height be careful, Meyer can do them easily enough." Probably shouldn't mention she can jump like a fucking kangaroo though, Ishimura thought. Kuroko had that hopeful look in his eyes again. Ishimura grinned, surely he would be all right with lay ups.

...

"All right, so no lay ups," Ishimura sighed as she rubbed the top of her arm. Kuroko had tripped twice and the last time he tried the ball hit the ring and bounced back, hitting the side of his face. He was now sitting on the ground, panting and sweating. She had to admit, his lack of skill in basketball was greatly outweighed by his devotion and dedication to the sport.

"I told you, Ishimura-San, I have difficulty with lay ups."

"Yeah I remember, it wasn't that long ago. So lay ups aren't your thing, don't worry. How's your face?" Ishimura asked, crouching in front of Kuroko. She reached out and gently rubbed her thumb along his cheek, frowning. The ball bounced pretty hard against his cheek, it must have strung something nasty.

"It stings."

"You should probably get some ice on it. How far away do you live?"

"Ishimura-San, I'm sure it will be..."

"I don't know if it will swell up or not, but you should definitely get some ice on it if it stings," Ishimura replied with some authority. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to his feet with ease, putting one hand on his back between his shoulder blades as she pushed him gently along. It had to be almost eleven by now and her mother hadn't sent her a message, which meant that she probably hadn't noticed her daughters absence.

"Ishimura-San, what about my ball?"

"The thing is almost grip-less so you're going to have to throw it out anyway. How quickly do you go through them anyway?" Ishimura looked over her shoulder to the ball. The kid goes through balls like there's not tomorrow. Kuroko was looking back to it, slightly worried but Ishimura squeezed his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, you can have one of mine."

"Where are we going?"

"Back to mine. If dad's still up he could take a look at it to see if it will bruise or not."

"You're father is a doctor?"

"You sound surprised," Ishimura laughed. He was not the first to be genuinely surprised that her father was a doctor, surgeon even. She knew she didn't exactly give off a genius air about her, btu she was just glad she recieved her mothers motivation for sports. "My house isn't too far away, just a couple blocks."

They walked most of the way in silence. Ishimura didn't remove her hand from Kuroko's back, mostly so he wouldn't disappear on her and partly because she was worried he might fall over again. He didn't exactly give off an aura of high stamina. She wasn't too worried about bringing a boy back to the house either, not after them meeting Shira.

"Is that your house, Ishimura-San?" Kuroko asked, slightly bewildered. Ishimura looked to him then looked to her house. It was a two storey home and quite wide, considering the space they had to live in. One side of the house was almost on the boundary, the other was cut off by the gate that was near Ishimura's bedroom.

"Yeah it is, come on, we'll get some ice on that." The pair walked up to the door and Ishimura opened it for Kuroko. She kicked her shoes off without much trouble, but Kuroko had to pause for a few moments to get his shoes off. Ishimura moved his shoes inside and shut the door after he moved in. Ishimura escorted down the hall into the lounge and barely managed to dodge a wayward ball come flying at her face. "Whoa, watch out!"

"Yuki-Chan, Yuki-Chan you're home!" Ishimura Gou cheered, throwing his hands up in the air. Ishimura let out a small chuckle as her youngest brother ran up to her, wrapping his short arms around her leg happily. She bent down and scooped her baby brother up into her arms, letting him sit on her hip happily. He noticed the blue haired boy behind her and hid his face into her shoulder, peeking at Kuroko shyly. "Yuki-Chan, why is he here?"

"Basketball little man. Kuroko, this way." Ishimura nodded and walked towards the kitchen. Kuroko followed, with Gou not taking his eyes off the strange boy behind them. He tugged occasionally on Ishimura's collar, whining and mumbling about the strange boy behind them. Ishimura wanted to comment about why the three year old was up this late, but figured he had snuck out of his bedroom. She put Gou on the counter and turned to the fridge. Ishimura opened the freezer door and pulled out an ice pack. She stepped to the oven and pulled a hand towel that was dangling on the side. Wrapping the pack gently, she wondered if her dad was still up to ask him to check Kuroko's cheek.

"Ano, Ishimura-San." Ishimura turned to Kuroko and burst out into laughter. Gou was standing on the counter, one hand of stubby little fingers curled around Kuroko's collar to keep him steady, while the other was pulling on his blue hair with interest. Kuroko looked slightly uncomfortable but didn't pull away from the young boy, who looked quite amused and let out a high peal of a giggle when he tugged on his hair once more.

"Looks like Gou likes you," Ishimura laughed as she handed him the ice pack. She picked Gou up with one arm, hugging him close to her as he made a sound of irritation before nuzzling in close to her neck. Ishimura already knew he was falling asleep and would crash before she knew it.

"Thank you, Ishimura-San."

"Why do you stay so late at that court?" Ishimura questioned, moving one hand to Gou's back and gently rubbing. Better for the kid to fall asleep now she could put him to bed and walk Kuroko home. She felt bad for the guy to have to walk all the way by himself.

"I thought we have already discussed this."

"Why do you go alone? Why not practice with someone else? What about Kagami?"

"I would not like to discuss this."

"Alright I can take a hint. How's your cheek?" Ishimura changed the subject quickly. Kuroko looked grateful and he pulled the ice pack away from his cheek. He touched the skin gingerly with his other hand but didn't grimace.

"I am feeling better. As I said, I do not think the ice was necessary," Kuroko said. Ishimura rolled her eyes, looking down to Gou. He was asleep already, which wasn't a surprise because he was way past his bed time. Kuroko leaned forward, looking to Gou with a slight smile on his face, when Ishimura's hand reached out. She grabbed his collar, pulling him forward as a wayward ball almost hit him in the face. It bounced off the fridge and Ishimura turned, making sure it didn't bounce back and hit Gou. The ball bounced off her back, settling on the ground.

"Hiruko, what the hell?" Ishimura snapped, turning to see her other two brothers standing at the door. The younger of the pair, Satoshi, looked sheepish, tugging on his older brothers sleeve, sightly upset that they had been caught. Hiruko just stood there scowling, his arms over his chest. "And what are you doing up? You should both be in bed."

"We heard you come home, who is he? Who said he could come into the house huh? How do you know him?" Hiruko demanded, moving his hands to his hips as he glowered at Kuroko. Ishimura smacked her hand to her forehead, groaning. Now was not the time for her brother to turn into this hopelessly overprotective moron that was about five feet tall. She was ready to scold the ten year old rather furiously, but Gou was asleep and she didn't want to wake him up.

"Oniichan, I told you we should have stayed in bed. Yuki-Chan is cranky," Satoshi mumbled with tears beginning to spring into his eyes, looking shyly at Kuroko from behind his brother. Kuroko looked from the boys to Ishimura, who looked like she was halfway between apologising to Kuroko and yelling at her brothers. She readjusted how she was holding Gou, who didn't even stir.

"Satoshi, come here, I think you all need to go to bed. Where are mum and dad?"

"Mum is in bed, but dad isn't home yet," Hiruko snapped back at Ishimura. Ishimura rolled her eyes. Satoshi had trotted over to Ishimura, wrapping his arms around Ishimura's leg and burying his face in her thigh. She immediately dropped her hand, ruffling his hair and looking over to Kuroko.

"I need to get these three back into bed, just wait here and then I'll walk you home."

"You can't just leave the house Yuki-Chan, I will tell mum and..."

"Who's the one throwing balls around in the house, at _guests_?" Ishimura shot back, pointing her tongue out at Hiruko and trying to hide her grin. Kuroko just nodded and Ishimura leant down, balancing Gou on one hip and letting Satoshi grip her shoulder. She put her arm behind the seven year olds leg and lifted him up. He was a lot heavier than Gou but she could easily balance the two. "Come on Hiruko, we have to go to bed."

Hiruko looked like he wasn't going to go anywhere. He stood still in his spot and stared at Kuroko, his eyes narrowed slightly. Clearly he wasn't too keen on the idea of Kuroko staying in the room by himself, and Ishimura groaned.

"Yuki-Chan, will you read me a story?" Satoshi mumbled, tugging on her collar and drawing her back to her current problem.

"I'm putting these two into bed, then coming back for you Hiruko. Understood?" Hiruko nodded, not taking his eyes off Kuroko and Ishimura sighed. She shot Kuroko an apologising look and disappeared out the kitchen, careful not to jostle Gou around too much.

Hiruko stared where he was at the entrance of the kitchen, staring at Kuroko. The latter put the ice pack back to his cheek, looking back at the young boy at the door. He was tall, but he sounded young and Kuroko couldn't place his age.

"Who are you?"

"I am Kuroko Tetsuya. I play for Seirin."

"You don't look like a basketballer. You're short and spindly." Hiruko tilted his head as he spoke, narrowing his eyes even further. Kuroko blinked back at him, picking him to be Ishimura's brother. They both shared that same coloured eyes, though Hiruko's hair was much lighter than Ishimura's. "And sitting on the bench doesn't count as playing either."

"I don't sit on the bench, I play."

"They must be short players then."

"We have four reserves."

"Then they're desperate."

"All are spectacular players."

"Then they pity you."

"I am sorry, Hiruko-San, have I given you a reason to dislike me?"

"You shouldn't be around my sister."

"And you should be in bed and stop being rude to your Sempai's," Ishimura appeared behind her brother, bending down and grabbing him by the arm. She hoisted him up over her shoulder's with ease, though he was clearly irritated by the motion. He let out a yelp and kicked his feet but Ishimura was unaffected. She disappeared back out of the kitchen, leaving Kuroko alone.

He could hear Hiruko arguing with Ishimura as they walked up the stares and Ishimura telling him to shut up every few seconds. Their voices eventually became muffled as the door shut and a few minutes later there was silence. Then the sound of heavy footsteps down the stairs. Ishimura reappeared, a basketball in her hands. She threw the ball to Kuroko gently and the latter caught it with one hand.

"Ishimura-San, it is not necessary..."

"Come on, I'll walk you home. The boys won't be getting up again," Ishimura smiled, though she looked worried.

...

The walk back to Kuroko's house was quiet. He was unsure as to whether or not he should start a conversation and Ishimura, for once, didn't bother trying to say anything. She walked with her hands resting behind her head, her elbows up and out, swaying gently side to side with each step. Her eyes were staring out in front of her, she hadn't looked to Kuroko once since they had left the house.

"Ano, Ishimura-San, is everything all right?" Kuroko asked quietly. Ishimura turned to him, her eyes looking slightly dazed as she nodded her head gently.

"Hiruko was acting up, sorry about that. He never used to, not since..." Ishimura trailed off, turning to look in front of her again. She didn't say anything but Kuroko was very curious about what may have happened. Ishimura didn't continue, just walked. They were almost back at Kuroko's house when she stopped, looking at him with a cloudy gaze.

"Is everything all right, Ishimura-San?" Kuroko questioned. Ishimura looked down, ringing her hands together as she mulled over her thoughts with worry. She had no idea whether or not she should tell him, but after the way Hiruko had acted she knew that she had to give him something.

"I should be getting back home," Ishimura muttered. She turned around without saying good bye, leaving Kuroko standing on the side walk quite confused, holding an icepack to his cheek and cradling a basketball with his other arm.


	9. Midorima Shintarou

"It looks, nice," Takami commented as she leant against the hood of the car. Ishimura and Shira's parents had driven the girls up to the mountain, but Shira's mother had disappeared almost as soon as Shira and Takami had gotten their things. Shira was standing next to her, her backpack sitting on her shoulder as she tilted her head, squinting her eyes slightly towards the building they were going to be staying in for the next two weeks. She tugged on her now crimson hair uncertain about the building.

"Remind me how she convinced us to come along," Shira questioned. Jo let out a laugh, bouncing off the door of the car and picking her bag up off the ground. She put her arm around Shira's shoulders, pushing her friend forward a little.

"Come on. It doesn't look too bad." Ishimura looked like she was more than ready to jump right back into the car and go home. Jo reached back, grabbing Ishimura's collar and pulling her along with the rest of the group. Meyer had arrived the day earlier to make sure everything was organised, but she seemed concerned about something when Jo had called her that morning. Hopefully it wasn't something too bad.

"Come on, there's like no service up here, how's Takami going to survive?"

"I brought a satellite phone," Takami smiled back to Ishimura. She fished the chunkier mobile out of her handbag before waving it in the air. Ishimura pouted, rolling her eyes dramatically before finally tugging out of Jo's grip as the car drove away. She could see Hiruko kneeling on the back seat and looking back to her, pulling one eyelid down and poking his tongue out at her.

"Look on the bright side guys. Free two week holiday."

"I'd rather have my arms chopped off," Ishimura muttered. She looked around to the nice landscape and wanted to hurl. Her version of a two week holiday was sleeping through the day, going on the computer and then going for a late night stroll. An isolated resort in the mountains, surrounded by trees, was not her idea of a holiday. It was hell.

"I think you're over reacting Yuki," Shira dropped back to walk beside Ishimura. The latter just rolled her eyes dramatically before readjusting her bag. Two weeks. Great. She wondered if Kuroko was going to be all right staying out late at night. She worried about him a bit more than she probably should, but she couldn't help it. There was just something about him that made her feel a bit over protective. It was probably the fact that he looked like he would die from being punched once in the face. He did drop to his knees after getting hit by the basketball after all. "But if you really want I'm sure we could organise it."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Ishimura's voice dripped with sarcasm as she forced out each word. Shira managed to hide her laugh as they walked through the reception. Meyer had texted them their room numbers earlier that morning and they were pretty close to the entrance. It had been organised that the roommates would be Ishimura and Shira, Meyer and Takami and then Jo would be in the extra room.

Everyone had been surprised when they were informed of that. They all assumed that Takami would be taking the spare room and Jo and Meyer would bunk together, but they didn't question it either. Meyer was standing half in, half out of one door way, looking back into the room with her back to the group. She was talking to someone inside, her shoulders squared and she looked slightly agitated.

"Meyer!" Takami called, gaining their captains attention. She looked over to them before stepping away from the door, looking in for a brief moment before returning her gaze to her friends. She looked quite cheerful, despite her obvious agitation, and it didn't take long for the girls to figure out why she was worried. Jean walked out of the room, his fingers clutching at his crutches tightly. He looked over to the girls and beamed a giant smile in their direction.

"Otouto!" Jo cheered happily. She dropped her bag in the hallway before stepping towards Jean. She pulled him into a tight but gentle hug, kissing the side of his head happily before she stepped back. Shira had been hot on her heels and was careful not to bowl the poor kid to the ground as she crashed into him with a hug.

"You little shit, didn't know you were coming," Ishimura grinned, raising one hand.

"Neither did I till yesterday," Jean huffed back, smacking his palm against hers. They wrapped their fingers tight around the highfive and gave each other a rough squeeze, still grinning happily.

"It's good to see you up, Jean-Kun," Takami smiled, ruffling his hair before frowning. She pressed lightly on his head, much like Meyer would always do. "Stop growing."

"Hey whoa, I just gelled it. You'll ruin it."

"Relax, it isn't ruined," Shira laughed.

"Yeah, if anything it's improved," Ishimura teased. She reached out and tugged on his dark brown hair. Jean pulled his head out of the way, swatting at her hand with one hand. Ishimura let out a laugh, reaching for his hair again but she pulled back when he lifted his crutch of the ground. "Oh you were not..."

"What would you do about it, Yuki?"

"Oh wouldn't you like..."

"There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you." All six looked up and registered the teen standing in front of them. She didn't look much different since the last time they had played against her, her long brown hair held in a tight braid at the back of her head, lips settled in a crooked smile and eyes glinting with a ferocity that she felt whenever she saw them.

"Well if it isn't Princess!" Ishimura practically shouted, running at Katsumi Ai and jumping on her. Katsumi barely managed to catch Ishimura, having to step back to keep her balance and they both let out a laugh. Katsumi and Ishimura had been friends when they were little, knowing each other through their fathers, both of which who were surgeons. "Wait, if you were looking for us... This is all your fault, isn't it?"

"Get off me dumb ass," Katsumi laughed but half meant it. Ishimura obliged, pulling away but still glowering. Katsumi turned to Meyer, grinning happily as though she had one the lottery. "He finally agreed to talk to you, all of you, but you're going to have to be quick. He's pretty serious about training."

"Wait who's this?" Shira interrupted, her ears pricking up excitedly. She leant forward dramatically, waiting for Katsumi to tell them what was going on.

"Midorima Shintarou, he's in the gym right now waiting to talk to you. As I said, hurry up."

"We won't keep him waiting, thanks for this Ai," Meyer grinned. Katsumi let out a laugh, shaking her head as she turned and walked off. They all knew this wasn't jsut a favour, they were going to have to bust their guts in a game at some point during this 'holiday'. Meyer turned to her team, nodding towards the room she and Jean had just walked out of. "Chuck your bags in there, we can sort them out later. I don't think we should be taking too long with this."

Jean moved out of the way as Jo picked up her bag, throwing it onto the floor of the room. Takami was more gently, stepping inside the door and gently placing the bag just inside. Whilst she was bending down Ishimura wrenched hers up and shot it in whilst Shira sent her bag flying in between Takami's legs. They hadn't had to bring a lot with them, Meyer had brought their suitcases the day before and no doubt they were already in their designated rooms.

"If you think I'm not coming, you're wrong," Jean grinned to his sister. Jo laughed again, hitting him on the back as if to say 'yeah, like we could keep you away'. Ishimura opted to instead wrap her arm around his shoulders, giving him a tight squeeze and letting go before they started walking down the hallway to the gym.

"You know, I remember when I had to bend down to put my arm around your shoulders kid."

"Yuki, I'm fourteen, I'm not a kid anymore," Jean scolded, glaring at her out the corner of his eye. Ishimura let out a laugh, letting her hands rest behind her head.

"Yeah, but you're not old enough to be called a teen yet and I can't exactly call you pubescent."

"Do you ever get this feeling that you should just stop talking about something?" Jean questioned. Ishimura grinned widely, shaking her head. Damn, she had to admit she missed hanging out with him. He had a pretty good sense of humour and she always thought of him as another little brother. Hell, all of them did.

"I usually smile and wave as those feelings pass me by."

...

"Nice shot, Shin-Chan." Midorima Shintarou winced slightly at his nickname. He realised very quickly that the more he demanded Takao Kazunari to stop calling him 'Shin-Chan', the more inclined he was to do so. If he was being honest, Midorima would have admitted he didn't mind it so much now, but there was always that tiniest amount of aggravation that rose every time Takao would utter it. And with his current audience, he wished for once Takao would just keep his mouth shut.

"Yeah, nice shot _Shin-Chan_." The snicker grew from the far side of the court where the female team had grouped. For some reason they were adamant about staying to watch the boys practice and Midorima was convinced it had to do with what Katsumi had been asking about. She wanted Midorima to meet with a team from some unimportant school and had been quite stubborn about him doing so. Takao had been forced to intervere and promised Katsumi that Midorima wouldn't mind at all, even though he did.

"Takao," Midorima growled under his breath, glaring at his friend. Takao was looking over to the female who had uttered the snicker, his eyebrows pulling together in irritation. They all knew her, Hotaru Ren. She was Vice Captain of the basketball team but even Katsumi was hesitant about her status.

"Hey, why are you still hanging around? Shouldn't you be training?"

"We can pass up training just for now," Hotaru bit back, her lips pulling back over her teeth slightly. Takao's lip pulled up slightly and was about to snap back when the door opened to the gym quite loudly. Midorima saw Hotaru crack her neck to the left, her eyes narrowing at whoever had just walked in.

"Whoa," Takao breathed, stepping back to Midorima. Midorima didn't look to the door, just turned his attention back to the hoop. Whoever had just walked in would not be worth his time. He lined himself up to take a shot when he felt a tugging on his collar. Sighing and shooting the ball, he turned to Takao, about to snap at him for almost distracting him when he saw what Takao was looking at.

It wasn't the girls that were standing at the edge of the court, all looking at Midorima with interest. Well, almost all of them. One was already lounging on the benches, playing with a red bandana that was wrapped around her wrist and looking incredibly bored already. No, it was the boy at the end and Midorima knocked Takao's foot with his own, trying to get across to his Point Guard that it was rude to stare.

The left side of his face was badly marred with lines of scars stretching all the way to just before his nose. They pulled his lips up slightly so he looked like he was constantly smirking. The scars disappeared under his collar, but his face wasn't the most attention grabbing aspect about him. What was most unusual about him was his left leg, or if Midorima was to put it correctly, the lack there of. His shorts ended and there was nothing to help support him, except for his crutches.

"Midorima Shintarou?" Midorima and Takao turned towards the voice who had spoken. She was shorter than Katsumi had said, but her western features gave her away immediately. Midorima almost turned his nose up at her. This was the Captain that Katsumi had demanded he meet.

"You must be Meyer-San. Katsumi said you wanted to speak with me." Midorima couldn't hide the disinterest in his voice and only a small part of him hope that Meyer hadn't picked up on it either. She did, as she narrowed her eyes in irritation and nodded.

"Yes, myself and two others of my team wanted to thank you."

"You want to thank Shin-Chan?" Takao almost coughed out. Midorima glowered at his friend for a moment before looking back to Meyer. She was a strange one, he would give her that. Katsumi had said she was an excellent basketballer and a rather formidable opponent, but Midorima couldn't see her as much more than a child who had found herself a rather good team to play with.

"Yes. You see, he inspired us to improve ourselves," Meyer didn't take her eyes away from Midorima. He was certain she hadn't even blinked. The smile that was on her lips wasn't entirely a kind one either.

"I do not believe we have met before."

"We haven't, but my team and I saw your first match when you were at Teiko. We'd never anyone take a shot so easily from where you had and, well as I said, we were inspired." Midorima's lips pressed into a thin line as he straightened his body even more. His initial judgement of the short teen in front of him had been wrong. There was something rather off about the girl standing in front of him.

"To do what?" Takao asked, completely oblivious. Midorima had an inkling about what her answer might have been but he still didn't want to hear it.

"To take perfect shots from the centre line," Meyer shifted her eyes to Takao for the first time in the conversation. Midorima felt himself stiffen slightly, still staring at the teen in front of him. Takao was looking at her, mouth slightly agape, before he burst into laughter.

"No one but Shin-Chan can do that," Takao chortled, bending over slightly. Midorima would have called him an idiot and told him to straighten up, but his eyes instead shifted to the other girls standing at the edge of the court.

"No one in the male teams maybe, but in our team there are three." Takao stopped laughed, blinking at Meyer in confusion. She looked back to Midorima, whose lips were still pressed in a serious, straight line. "Do you believe me, Midorima Shintarou, or do you need Oha Asa to tell you?"

To say Takao lost it at her comment would be an understatement. Whether it was the deadpanned expression she had when she'd said it with complete seriousness, the fact that Midorima's cheeks flushed slightly red or a mix of both, Takao couldn't be sure. He did know, however, that he was having trouble breathing and that Midorima was glaring at him with the fury of a thousand warriors. That may have just set him off even more.

"What is your star sign?" Midorima growled. He was curious as what this little creature in front of him might possible be, and to see if Oha Asa had warned him away from her at the start of the day.

"Capricorn." No, Oha Asa hadn't said anything about a Capricorn at all today. Midorima turned his nose up slightly, irritated now just by looking at her face. She was crawling under his skin and leaving impressions that he didn't want. He didn't want to admit it but something about her was suddenly so completely and utterly intimidating. "Did Oha Asa warn you away from..."

"Enough," Midorima was more gruff than he had intended to be but he was done with this, this creature. He turned away from her, grabbing a ball from the basket next to him and lined up to shoot, when someone was in front of him. He didn't often come across someone taller than him, and when his eyes flickered up he was surprised to see a rather soft expression on the girls face.

"We were talking," her gaze shifted from Midorima to Meyer. She seemed comfortable, even though she was quite close in his personal space. Midorima wanted to step back but part of him refused to let him do so. He was not about to be intidimated. "And we want to play."

"Play?" Takao looked up to the girl, his eyebrows pulling together as he tried to comprehend what she meant.

"Basketball, you nugget."

"Yeah, it should be fun. Our three shooters against your one." The remaining three girls were walking towards them. The first to speak was fiddling with a red bandana that had been tied around her neck. She looked to be scowling in Takao's direction, but the other was grinning widely. She was the taller of the three, with bright red hair that she was pulling into a high pony tail.

"Statistically, the odds are in our favour. It is doubtful Shutoku would win." Midorima growled as he looked closely to the girl wlaking behind the two. She hadn't even looked up from the satellite phone in her hands as she spoke but she seemed to certain of herself.

"Yeah, especially if they play like their girls!" The girl fiddling the red bandana boomed, turning to the team sitting on the bench. Hotaru scowled, obviously the comment was aimed at her more than anything. She stood, her hands in fists, and her team mates quickly grabbed her.

"You talk a load of shit Ishimura!"

"And your mouth is the only thing that runs!" Ishimura growled back, sticking her middle finger up to the other player. Hotaru was barely pulled back into her seat by her team, but she remained scowling towards Ishimura. There was no love lost between the pair.

The crimson haired teen pulled on Ishimura's collar, shaking her head and turning to look at Midorima and Takao. She lingered on Midorima for a moment and then seemed to shake her head for a second, focusing her gaze on Takao.

"Come on Meyer, agree to it. I'm sure the boys wouldn't have a problem playing with us."

"I would," Midorima growled, but Takao was already jumping up and down excitedly. Even Miyaji and Otsubo looked interested in their exchange.

"Yes, that would be so much fun. Katsumi's told me about your games, oh mighty Queens," Takao laughed, dramatically bowing before looking to Otsubo hopefully. Takao obviously wasn't the only one to hear from Katsumi about them, as Otsubo looked to the team carefully, scratching the back of his head.

"It would be interesting none-the-less. One game should be enough." They all turned to see the coach of Shutoku walking into the hall, Katsumi close on his heels. She was smiling gleefully and it was a apparent to all that it hadn't just been the Iwozuka team that intended to play Shutoku.

"Thank you Nakatani Sensei, I promise you, it will be a good experience for the boys."

"We're still talking about ball here, right?" Ishimura called back to Katsumi. She received a hefty smack to the back of her head from the girl on the phone, who glowered in the direction of her friend. Ishimura scowled but grinned back to her, pulling her bandana to pulled her fringe out of her face. Takao had to admit, there was something rather frightening about the way she was grinning at them.


	10. Shutoku : First Half

Meyer let out a deep breath, focusing on where the players were standing, not that she really needed to. They were all going to break away any moment and Takami would be keeping track of the best route. She was already observing the boys, carefully surveying their bodies and trying to find any weaknesses. If she found them, the whole team would know soon enough.

Jo was standing just outside the centre circle, knees slightly bent and her hands dangling idly by her side. She was facing off against Shutoku's captain, a rather tall player by the name of Otsubo Taisuke. He wasn't that much shorter than Jo, but the girls weren't too worried about that. Even if Jo missed the ball, they were more than likely to pick it up before the others.

Ishimura looked to already be in her element. She had decided to match up against Shutoku's point guard, the laughing boy from earlier. Meyer hadn't been entirely convinced that it was the best idea and wanted her to go against Miyaji Kiyoshi, Shutoku's small forward, but she let Ishimura make the decision. If necessary they could change the marks around with ease.

Shira was on Midorima. Jo would be hanging back in defense as she often did and Shira was the best choice to try and keep Midorima in check. As long as they didn't let him get the ball, he wouldn't be able to score any of his three pointers and they would be able to win easier. Not that his three pointers would hinder them all too much.

Takami had decided to try and tackle Kimura Shinsuke. She didn't seem to be focused in on the game yet though, her eyes still flickering back to her mobile that was sitting quite securely in Jean's hands. It was going to take her a while to warm up if this was the state she was in.

Meyer had been left to try and keep an eye on Miyaji. She thought it was stupid idea, considering he was taller than Shira and she would have been better off starting with Takao. Meyer sniffed slightly, her eyes flickering around the court. With all that in mind, she wasn't too worried. Shutoku's biggest threat was Midorima's three pointers, something they could match relatively easily. It should be an interesting match nonetheless.

"Both teams ready?" Katsumi asked, whistle around her neck. Nakatani had requested Katsumi referee the match, the latter agreeing quite whole heartedly. There was nothing she wanted more than to be able to see the action closer than from the benches. Otsubo mumbled a yes to her whilst Jo just nodded, her eyes focused in on the ball Katsumi held in her hands. "All right then."

She stepped back, pulling the whistle into her mouth. She blew it, throwing it high into the air. Otsubo jumped first, his hand stretching up to the ball, but Jo's few centimetres proved to be helpful. She gained height quickly, pulling her hand back and smacking against the leather hard. Ishimura ran forward, hand up and ready to get the ball when Takao flashed past her. He gripped the ball tight and started dribbling it down the caught, sidestepping a rather complying Takami and down the court. Ishimura gave chase straight away, muttering profanities under her breath.

Jo was heading after them but she didn't look too worried, and Shira was preoccupied with the ball that she completely forgot she was meant to be covering Midorima. Meyer was about to head down court after Takao as well, when she noticed that Midorima was only jogging down. She was confused but only for a moment when the movement down court ceased. Ishimura had managed to get in front of Takao, effectively blocking his path. Jo was in front of Otsubo, blocking him from moving to an open position.

There was only one way that Takao could go, and that was backwards to Midorima. Meyer saw a sly grin grow on Takao's face as he gripped the ball, quickly pivoting backwards. He shot the ball out quickly, straight into Midorima's hands. From there, the goal should have been easy. Midorima would have wasted no time in shotting from where he was standing, but the ball never made it into his grasp.  
Meyer sprinted forward, bursting with speed from her stationary position, wrenching the ball towards herself and dribbling away from Midorima. He looked surprised but stayed hot on her heels, attempting to snatch the ball back. Meyer grinned, they already had the point.

While Shutoku had been so completely absorbed in their own play they had noticed the positions the girls had taken. There were only three defenders, Ishimura, Shira and Jo (although Meyer always thought of Jo as two, especially when she threw her arms out wide). The second Meyer had stolen the ball, before Midorima had a chance to grab it, was the second the tide of the game turned from Shutoku's favour to Iwozuka's. Takami, in the time that it had taken Takao to reached their end of the court then pass back to Midorima, had wandered down halfway between the centre line and the three point line, and was ildly waiting for someone to pass her the ball. Meyer was all too happy to comply.

Meyer shot the ball forward, sending it soaring towards her team mate. Takami gripped it easily and jumped into the air, needing no time to line up the shot. She'd had a moments peace before to do it already. With a flick of her wrist Takami sent the ball gently through the air, the ball making a nice swoosh as it fell perfectly into the hoop.

"Hell yeah, Iwozuka for the win!" Ishimura cheered, jumping and punching the air happily. Takao looked to her, one eyebrow raised.

"That's only three points."

"Three points more than you," Ishimura poked her tongue out as she ran past Takao to get back to the centre line. She didn't know why she wanted to exactly, but as she predicted Takao stayed pretty hot on her heels as well. Wonder if I'm his mark as well, Ishimura thought just before she crashed into something solid. She rocked back on her heels, looking up and expecting to see Jo standing in front of her. It wasn't Jo. "Whoops, sorry."

"You should watch where you are going," Midorima growled. He had been caught completely off guard by Meyer, he had even noticed that she had been near enough to him to be able to intercept Takao's pass. In fact he hadn't seen her near him at all. He would have to ask Takao after he spoke to the bandana wearing loudmouth.

"She said sorry, get the stick out of your ass," Shira muttered as she jogged past. Ishimura raised her eyebrows. Yep, once again Shira had completely forgotten that she had a mark at all. Well, at least Meyer had been there to prevent. Ishimura resorted to snorting once and heading after Shira. Screw the marks, this would be an easy game.

"Or maybe he needs one," Ishimura muttered, not intending for anyone to hear but she grinned slightly when she heard a snicker behind her. She looked over her shoulder, seeing that Takao had remained close behind her and he had a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh. At least he had a sense of humour.

After the first points were given to Iwozuka, the game had turned quite serious quite quickly. It was evident Shutoku was not impressed with Iwozuka taking control of the game that quickly and looking so casual about it. Jo had decided to hang back in defense like she often did, but her eyes would flicker to Midorima every now and then. Meyer could understand what she was thinking. She wanted to block him, but he would be too far away from her position to let her do so.

For such a height, it came at a cost. Even Shira was partial to it, though she wasn't effected to the same extent. Out of all the players in Iwozuka, Jo would be the first to tire if she played in offence. Her movements would become sluggish and defense would take a hefty blow because of it. That being said, it wasn't as if Jo never scored. Often if they were pushed underneath the goals Jo would come forward, completely clear of any defenders and offer a chance to change the pace of the game.

Shutoku were quick to take back the flow of the game. Shira was distracted for a second and Miyaji had taken advantage of that fact, breezing past her. Unfortunately for him she was hot on his heels, but so was Takao. Ishimura lunged forward, her fingers scraping the ball when Miyaji passed, but Takao gripped it tight. He turned, not even stopping his run, and quickly passed back to a clear Midorima. There was no way Meyer, who was near their own three point line, would be able to make it in time to intercept the pass. Instead she opted to far out to the left side, slipping past Otsubo who was distracted by his own team mates throw.

Meyer had to admit, Midorima's throws weren't just precise, they were like art. The ball had a high arc that ended up with a precise goal. He and Takao were walking back and the whole court seemed to be frozen after watching the display. Seemed being the key word. Jo moved fast, grabbing the ball as soon as it bounced and not wasting a second. Meyer was running forward, catching Takao's attention. Jo pegged the ball straight to Meyer, who caught it without a slight fumble. Although the impact stung her hands slightly, she was more than used to the sensation. She didn't even need to look for someone who was open, she already knew. Keeping her eyes trained on Takami, she moved her hands up ready to pass. Takao was already moving to intercept it on Takami's end and Kimura was coming in from her right.

Meyer passed off to the left as Shira broke away from Miyaji. The ball was barely in her hands long enough for the boys to register when she had passed it off to Ishimura. By the time the ball was in Ishimura's hands, Meyer had run forward and Takami broke free away from Takao. Ishimura passed the ball to Takami, who pivoted to the hoop only to find Takao standing in front of her. They were matched pretty well for height, Takao just a few centimetres shorter than her. Meyer saw Takao say something to her before Takami shook her head. She didn't even look over her shoulder, didn't take her eyes from Takao before she turned her hand, pegging the ball over her shoulder.

It didn't come straight towards Meyer but enough in the general direction that the captain could intercept the path. She jumped, taking the ball in her right hand and lined herself up. She flicked the ball forward, but Midorima leaped into the air, knocking the ball backwards. Meyer grinned slightly.

"Should have grabbed it," she hissed as she and Midorima landed. He had been so focused on blocking her shot he didn't see who was standing behind her. Jo had the ball tight in fingers, her gaze unwavering from the hoop. She rocked back onto her heels before pushing forward on her toes, soaring into the sky higher than Midorima would be able to block.

Her shot wasn't as perfect as Midorima's, in fact it almost didn't go in. It rolled around the rim of the basket for a few seconds before dropping down. Jo hadn't stuck around in their part of the court to watch if it went in or not, already jogging slowly back into a defensive position. Shira slowed her pace, realising there was no need for her to be in that part of the court either.

"You knew she was behind you." Meyer dusted the front of her shirt down, looking up to Midorima. She wasn't certain if he was impressed or irritated, but it was probably a bit of both. Meyer shrugged her shoulders, casting a quick look around the court. If anything the boys looked more determined than before, which was a good sign.

"We've been playing as a team for seven years Midorima," Meyer replied before she turned to run off. Midorima looked honestly surprised at her comment, but before she could say anything Katsumi blew her whistle.

"Time out, Shutoku side." Meyer looked over to Nakatani, who was staring at the court fairly serious. Did he look worried because both Jo and Takami had shot three pointers themselves a distance from the three point line, or because they hadn't even come close to intercepting the girls passes? Meyer shrugged. Whatever their coach was thinking wasn't of her concern. Her gaze flickered to Takami, who was chewing her bottom lip.

Iwozuka jogged over to the bench that Jean was sitting on. He was grinning, obviously pleased with the game he was seeing. Jo plopped herself down on the bench next to him and Ishimura ruffled his hair for good measure and to annoy him. He knocked her hand away but looked over to Shutoku.

"They look worried."

"More like confused," Shira snorted, looking over her shoulder. Takao was looking over to the group. Shira gave him a small wave that was accompanied by a wink and he looked slightly confused, his cheeks turning a little pinker as he looked back to his coach.

"Leave him alone." Jean kicked Shira's thigh lightly, bring her back to the group. She poked her tongue out at the younger teen but didn't look back nonetheless. Takami was rubbing the side of her neck, speaking inaudibly to herself as she ran down her thoughts on the match so far. She was reviewing the game in her mind, tracing all concerns about the Shutoku team.

"So what course of action should we take?" Jo questioned, leaning her elbows on her knees. Meyer scratched her chin lightly before shrugging.

"Run them down in the first quarter, throw them around in the second."

"Crush them in the third and fourth?" Shira asked, stretching her hands up and cracking her back. Meyer nodded, looking to Takami. She had stopped talking to herself and was now frowning, looking over to Shutoku.

"He will be a problem."

"Who, Midorima?"

"No. The Laughing Boy." Everyone immediately knew who she was talking about. Takao's name had slipped from her mind already and so she had adopted the nickname Ishimura had made as a comment before the game started. Ishimura nodded, rubbing her calf.

"Takami's right, he's fast, and he keeps getting away from me."

"He passes off to Midorima, so essentially he gets the ball and Midorima does too," Shira noted. She had surprising been paying attention in the game, even though she completely ignored Midorima as a mark. No one bothered to really bring it up, most of them except Ishimura struggled to stay on their marks through out the game.

"He's touched the ball most out of Shutoku," Takami confirmed, crossing her arms over her chest. She was still frowning, recounting the game and thinking it over. "He's only going to get faster too. Ishimura won't be able to stay on him long."

"Why do I have a feeling there's one last thing?" Ishimura groaned, rolling her head back and closing her eyes. Takami nodded, looking back over to Shutoku. Takao obviously felt her gaze because he stole a glance their way, only to find most of the team looking back at him.

"Laughing Boy's a Hawk." Everyone grimaced, but only slightly. They had met those with the Hawk Eye ability before so it wasn't a game changer, it just made the game more annoying.

"That explains the funny look Midorima gave him when Meyer intercepted the ball," Jo noted. Meyer shrugged. She wasn't surprised about it, but she knew that Takao would prove to be a problem for Ishimura if he was only going to get faster. Scratching her neck she knelt down, looking up to the team around her.

"Ishimura, you're moving onto Midorima. He doesn't get the ball, understood?" Ishimura gave Meyer a short nod. Meyer looked to Jo and Shira, who were waiting for whatever it was that Meyer was going to tell them to do. They very rarely made a game plan, even moreso rarely followed it, but this was going to simple and effective. It shouldn't be too hard for the girls.

...

"You're in trouble," Katsumi commented as she looked over to Iwozuka. The match was only five minutes in and already all the girls were looking serious. They weren't going to play the boys kindly. Midorima pushed his glasses up his nose, looking down to the teen who had joined them.

"They will tire before I do," he commented bluntly. Katsumi laughed, shaking her head before running a hand through her hair. Takao was glancing back to the group, frowning as if he was trying to read their lips. It would be no use, Meyer was the one who was speaking and there wouldn't be any in depth conversation either.

"You don't understand the girls. They're going to run you down in the first half then steal the game in the second."

"We do not tire so easily." The heated reply should have singed her tongue from speaking more but Katsumi just laughed again. She couldn't help it, Midorima was just so clueless about what he was up against. Looking to Takao, she glanced at her watch. There was still half a minute left of time out, enough for her to warn them.

"Shutoku, be careful. Playing Iwozuka isn't just a physical battle, but it's a mental battle as well."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Takao grinned but Katsumi shook her head. She bit her lip, thinking back to the last time they played Iwozuka. The team was difficult, and Takami was the biggest problem of them all.

"They're already playing you Takao."

...

"Hey, Midorima." Ishimura could already see the glwoering look in his eye as she walked towards him. They were aboout to resume the first quarter, but Ishimura couldn't help herself. Now that she was marking him, she found herself unable to keep her question to herself any longer.

"What do you want?"

"I have a very serious question for you, and it's something only you can answer." Midorima's frown deepened. Her tone had taken on a serious element to it, and her eyes were unwavering as she watched him carefuly. She was looking right into his eyes, almost trying to gauge how to approach her question.

"What. Is. It?" Midorima was tired of her already.

"Are you aware you look like a carrot when you're in the Shutoku uniform?" Takao, who had been standing just a little behind Midorima, smacked his hand over his mouth to stop the hounding laughter from escaping. He had to focus in on the game.

"She has a point Shin-Chan," Takao managed to cough out. Midorima turned to him slowly, his eyes ablaze with fury, but Takao couldn't help but notice the small pools of crimson just under his glasses.

"Shin-Chan? You're nickname's Shin-Chan?" Ishimura asked incredeously, bringing Midorima's attention back to herself. He was about to snarl at her, demand she go somewhere else on the court, when her lips cracked into a lobsided smirk. Midorima stiffened, thinking she looked too much like Aomine when he saw a box of good food. "Nah, Carrot-Chan suits you better."

Ishimura skipped off to a different part of the court, grinning to herself as she could literally feel how much Midorima wanted to strangle her. She couldn't help herself, really, and when she looked over to Meyer she saw her captain as about as impressed as Midorima. At least Takao looked like he thought she was funny, his hand was back over his mouth has he moved to his position on the court.

Katsumi's whistle rang out, Shutoku's ball. Miyaji passed it out to Otsubo, who dribbled it down the line. Takami stepped out of his way, smiling at him as he walked passed. He frowned, unsure of what to make of what she had done, when he came up against Shira. She moved into a defensive position, but when Otsubo moved to dodge her, she just straightened and watched him pass. Katsumi's warning rang in his mind, 'they're already playing you', and he turned to look back with a frown.

"Otsubo!" Miyaji shouted but it was too late. Ishimura sprinted forward, snatching the ball from Otsubo and passing off to Meyer. The smallest player was sprinting fast down the court, the ball moving effortlessly from her hand to the ground and back to her hand. Takao gave chase, getting close, his hand snaking out, fingers about to graze the ball. It disappeared from sight.

Meyer changed her direction suddenly, hesitating for just a second before gunning it for the left side of the court. Takao looked completely surprised and stumbled to change his path to match hers. He was too late. Miyaji was coming for her but Meyer just shrugged. She didn't need the ball any more. She passed off to the right, where Takami was standing, and the latter sent the ball flying to Shira, who was running quite fast down the far left of the court.

Shira caught the ball just before it hit her in the face, dribbling up to the hoop. Kimura chased her down, but he was only welcomed with a laugh when Shira jumped. The ball moved to her right hand as she laughed gleefully, slamming it into the hoop harder than necessary. She landed delicately, turning to the man behind her grinning. Reaching out, she pet his shoulder gently.

"Next time huh, big boy."

The game continued like the for the rest of the first quarter. Midorima was irritated at how they were playing. The boys had to be constantly on their guard, unsure if the girl in front of them was going to attack or just let them pass. Although they were not technically breaking any rules, their game play was infuriating. Not even Takao was spared, his hawk eye wasn't helping him to judge whether or not the girls would attack. Shutoku scored a lot more goals though. Sometimes even Jo would just step aside and let them shoot, only that made Shutoku even more agitated. None of them knew how to counter this sudden change in game play.

"What are they playing at?" Miyaji seethed after the first half had finished. Midorima looked around his team mates, noticing even Takao wasn't spared from this fury. Midorima felt worried about his team, it was so unlike them to become so worked up about a game so quickly.

"They're just letting us score, they only improved their score by six points that half. They're letting us control the game," Takao muttered. Midorima felt very uneasy about the way the game was playing out. He watched the girls at the other benches, how they moved and talked to one another. The score as sixty two to twelve, by rights they would be increasingly worried by the gap. Ishimura, who had unceromoniously dubbed him 'Carrot-Chan', was standing there laughing happily next to Takami. This was not the behaviour of a team that had lost control of a game. This was the behaviour of a team who has been controlling it from the beginning.


	11. Shutoku : Early Finish

The shift in the game wasn't something that slowly happened over the course of the third quarter. It was sudden and in their faces, and Midorima wasn't afraid to admit that Shutoku was completely unprepared for it. It was like before, Takao dribbling the ball up, when he passed to Midorima. Ishimura had cut into the balls path, passed it off to Jo who hurled it down the other side of the court to Takami. The latter managed to shoot a three pointer before Shutoku even registered what happened.

Every time Takao, or anyone, would attempt to pass to Midorima, Ishimura would cut in and steal the ball. It was only Midorima though, she would completely leave a ball if she was within reach for anyone else. Midorima found himself scowling quite angrily at the player, who would only grin happily back at him.

Shutoku still managed to score points in the third quarter but with Takami and Jo easily scoring three point shots between them, and Midorima being effectively cut out of the game because of Ishimura, the gap in the score was closing quickly. By the end of the third quarter, there was only twelve point difference, with Shutoku sitting on seventy eight and Iwozuka on sixty six. The match had quickly turned around and Shutoku couldn't seem to bring themselves to match the girls.

"I don't understand," Takao complained before he started chugging on his water. Katsumi had wondered over during the quick break between quarteres. Midorima couldn't take his eyes of Iwozuka. The game they played was completely and utterly unorthodox.

"I warned you about not playing their game," Katsumi scolded but it was directed more towards Takao than anyone else. Miyaji was staring at Ishimura, his eyes narrowed and complaining how he wanted to run her down with Kimura's pick up. Midorima didn't care about his Senpai's chattering, he was watching Jo. The centre, compared to the rest of her team, looked tired. She was rubbing her right shoulder and sitting down on the bench while the rest remained standing.

"We didn't!"

"You did. You slowed down your game because they did and now you can't pick yourselves back up." Takao opened his mouth to object before closing his mouth, frowning. None of them had realised it, especially not at the time, but looking back they could see. The girls, by doing hardly anything in game, had brought the game to a slow pace which Shutoku followed without a second thought. Takao realised by the end of the first half they were just jogging around the court, but when the girls shifted their position they ran, keeping their heart rates up. They forced Shutoku into a lull.

"You have an idea Katsumi?" Otsubo asked. His face was flushed, irritated that the game had turned around so quickly. It wasn't just the block on Midorima that was giving them trouble, Jo standing guard near their hoop proved to be a difficult block. It was even worse when Shira dropped back and helped defend, the two were hard to get pass.

"You have to find a way to get the ball to Midorima and match their shots. If you can't do that, you have to find a way to get Jo out of the way."

"How do you suggest we do that, offer her a magazine?" Takao scowled. Katsumi smacked him on the upside of the head before nodding over to her.

"She's already tiring herself out. Full court throws use a lot of her energy, and she's coming forward to take three pointers as well when Takami is blocked. Jo won't be holding out much longer, her movements will become sluggish and you'll be able to get around her."

"We have fifteen minutes."

"Are you giving up on me, captain?" Katsumi challenged. Otsubo stood, shaking his head and smiling defiantly. His eyes flickered to the score board, grinning. Katsumi knew what was going through his mind, there's still a gap, there's still a chance. Katsumi looked to Iwozuka and blew her whistle, calling the players back onto the court. Before she stepped out Nakatani cleared his voice, calling her back.

"You've played this team before."

"Yes Sensei, every year for as long as I can remember."

"Tell me truthfully, who do you think will win?" Katsumi chewed on her lower lip, looking back to Iwozuka and Shutoku. Her eyes narrowed in on Meyer, who was standing on the court nearest her brother, stretching out her arms. She swallowed before looking back to Nakatani who was waiting patiently for her answer.

"Truthfully Sensei," Katsumi hesitated, thinking about her words. She let out a sigh, rubbing the back of her neck and breathing deeply. "Iwozuka aren't trying all that hard."

...

The fourth quarter began with Katsumi blowing her whistle harder than before. Shutoku were the first to score but Iwozuka recovered quickly. Jo didn't cover the whole court in one throw though, instead she passed it to Meyer. The girl stayed in one place for a few moments, tilting her head to the side and surveying the court before her. Takao was trying to cover her, but she bounced the ball behind her and out of his reach. Then she was gone.

She suddenly burst to the left, moving around Takao like he wasn't a threat at all. She dribbled straight down the centre of the court, bypassing Miyaji by mere centimetres, barely moving out of the way and catching him completely by surprise. She crossed the centre line and continued, only to be blocked by both Otsubo and Kimura. Meyer, who had been running almost at a complete sprint, stopped right in front of the pair suddenly. Before they had a chance to try and react, she bent her knees and shot up into the air with a hard jump.

Katsumi had never seen Meyer jump from the side, and it was only know that she wasn't trying to defend her did she realise exactly how high Meyer could get. It was something that caught both Otsubo and Kimura completely off guard as well, but not so much as when she pulled her hand back and delicately shot a three point basket almost completely by the centre line. She landed with a heavy thud and was already running back, already prepared to go on the defense. Iwozuka seemed well aware of Jo's state of tiring, so Shira and Meyer seemed to hang back a lot more than in the first three quarters. That didn't effect their flow though.

Midorima was still cut off from his team. Takao had tried some sneaky passes, but Ishimura intercepted every one. Midorima hadn't even come close to touching the ball in the last quarter and a half, and to say he was becoming irritated was a grievous understatement. Every time she darted in front of him he felt his chest swelling with anger and he started biting his tongue so he wouldn't completely snap at her or say something foolish.

By the time the match had reached five minutes to go, Iwozuka had pulled completely around and were leading by twelve points. Otsubo was getting frustrated, Miyaji was threatening to throw pineapples at Takao and Midorima, and Kimura was offering to lend him his pick up. Even Takao was getting fired up about the girls, but there was nothing they could do. He continued to pass to Midorima occasionally, but this was becoming few and inbetween.

Midorima didn't take his eyes off his friend, hoping to be able to drop Ishimura and get a shot from Takao. The moment appeared quickly. Ishimura seemed distracted by Hotaru and Takao noticed this as well. He passed the ball back to Midorima, hoping to get a three point shot in. They still had time to turn this around. Midorima saw the ball soaring towards him and he felt a swell of excitement grow in his chest, though he wouldn't admit it. He could kill for one more shot in the game.

She appeared out of no where. He heard her yelling at Hotaru and then she in front of him, the tiniest amount of space between the two as she snatched the ball before he could. He didn't mean to, he meant to bite back his tongue and accept it but his body reacted without him letting it.

"Will you stop stealing my balls?" Midorima growled but it was loud enough for everyone near them to hear. Takao's eyes grew wide as he processed what had been said, Shira raised her eyebrows as though she was thinking something that couldn't be said, but Ishimura just turned slowly to look over her shoulder. The glint in her was indescribable, but the smirk was much like Takao's. Midorima grimaced, already knowing that he had just done something he really shouldn't have.

"I don't know if you've noticed Carrot-Chan, but you haven't had any." Takao smacked his hand over his mouth, bending over slightly to keep his laughter contained. Otsubo turned to the side, biting his lips to hide his smile. Miyaji cracked a grin that surpressed his laugh. The girls were not so kind. Shira snorted, covering her face and turning around in a poor attempt to mask her outburst. Meyer burst into giggles, bending over and trying to catch her breath between each outburst. Takami smirked but her laughter could be heard in her throat. Only Ishimura and Jo weren't laughing, Jo because she hadn't heard and couldn't be bothered trying to figure out what was happening, and Ishimura because she was smirking so hard in daring Midorima to say or something else.

Midorima's ears grew slightly red as he straightened his back. He felt embarassed though he didn't know why, but he heard the Shutoku female team burst into laughter behind him. He suddenly felt like he wanted to get off the court, something that had never occurred to him before. Glowering at Ishimura, he turned on his heel and with his head held high, Midorima effectively ran away.

"Shin-Chan where are you going?"

"Come on Carrot-Chan don't be like that, please!" Ishimura called out after him. Midorima turned, completely prepared to accept an apology, but that glint in her eye hadn't disappeared. She was still holding the basketball, which she reached out towards him, still smirking. "If you come back I'll give you your balls."

Midorima scowled, evacuating the gym and leaving the match unfinished. Ishimura shrugged, turning to Otsubo who was standing closest to her, passing him the ball quickly. He was knocked back a few steps.

"Guess that's a forfeit," Jo yawned from the end of the court. Miyaji growled, ready to chase Midorima down but the look on Katsumi's face made him stop. her jaw was clenched and she was watching Meyer carefully. The latter had stopped her giggle fit rather effectively after Midorima had stormed out and was now glaring at Ishimura's direction. Even Shira looked slightly unimpressed, though she still found the comments hilarious.

"Guess so," Otsubo muttered, looking down to the ball in his hands. The girls cleared from the court, but Katsumi stepped forward, grabbing Meyer's arm and turning the captain around to face her. Takami slowed down her walk, watching the pair carefully, and it wasn't long before everyone else in the gym noticed the look on Katsumi's face. She looked angry, still gripping tight on Meyer's arm.

"Is there a purpose to why you are holding me?" Meyer questioned, tilting her head to the side. Katsumi growled under her breath, throwing Meyer's hand down. Whatever she wanted to say drowned in the sound and she turned away from Meyer, looking towards her own team. They too were looking at the girls but they seemed unimpressed.

"Meyer, let's go," Ishimura demanded, rubbing her stomach. It had decided to make a guest appearance and the noise it was emitting was growing louder and louder. Meyer hesitated, still looking at Katsumi, but returned to her team nonetheless. Takami hovered near Katsumi, frowning, but she trailed dutifully after her captain.


	12. Truth or Dare : Iwozuka

Shira was curled up on the small chair in Jo and Jean's room. Jean was occupying his bed, stretching out and laying on his stomach, his head resting on a pillow at the foot of the bed and not really paying attention to the girls. Meyer was sitting on the ground near his head, her back aaginst the bed and her head leaning against the mattress. Jo was sitting on the ground at the end of her bed, resting her elbows on her knees and cupping her chin in her right hand. Takami was sitting behind her, carefully braiding her friends long blonde hair. Ishimura was sprawled out on the ground in the middle of the room, lying like a star fish on her back and staring lazily up at the roof.

They had been at the resort for three days, mostly hanging out in Jo and Jean's room. They hadn't tried to go and find Shutoku to play, none of them really up for playing basketball. Instead they had lounged around, playing card games and some old busted up board games from the front desk. It was fun, but they all felt incredibly lazy.

"We should do something," Shira yawned, cracking her back as she stretched. She settled back in her comfortable position, slowly blinking as she looked around to her team mates. The fact they hadn't really done anything for a few days seemed to sap the energy out of them. Normally Shira wouldn't mind, but they were all starting to get a bit antsy.

"Such as?" Takami asked, not looking up from Jo's hair. Jo leaned back a little, smiling slightly at having her hair played with.

"Truth or dare!" Shira cheered and Ishimura emitted a sound that could only be described as a dying whale. She rolled onto her stomach, ignoring the laughs the rest of the room emitted, glowering in Shira's direction.

"Oh hell no."

"Why not Yuki, you always have a great time," Meyer giggled. Ishimura growled, shaking her head furiously. They all knew the instance that Meyer was referring to and, by the growing smirk on his face, even Jean had heard about it.

"Fuck that shit, I'm not playing."

"And why's that?" Jo pushed, grinning over to her friend through half closed eyes. Ishimura crawled to her knees, rocking back to sit up properly. She crossed her arms over her chest, turning her face away from her friends and letting out a huff.

"Because last time I ended up on the top of a flag pole with no pants." The girls broke out into a fit of laughter, the memories of Ishimura hugging the top of the flag pole in her jumper and knickers was a memory they were always forced to bring back whenever anyone mentioned truth or dare. Ishimura growled again, glaring at Shira. "It was your fault."

"Hey I only dared you to play the rest of the game with no pants. It was Jo who made you go up the flag pole." Jean leaned across and gave Jo a high five. He was still laughing under his breath. Ishimura huffed, shaking her head again, but part of her really wanted to play. It had been a long time since the five of them, including Jean, had sat down and played truth or dare. It would have been more fun if Saka and Kazuki were here, but they hadn't been able to do anything about that.

Saka still had her basketball at her school, and Kazuki was Captain of the boys team and they would be practicing over the summer, despite the fact they weren't part of the Winter Cup. Kazuki had mentioned something about a street ball competition coming up, but none of them had really paid any attention to what he was saying.

"So," Shira grinned, looking around to her friends with glee, "who's going first?"

"Not me," Takami said as she stood. She ran her hand through her hair before nodding to the door.

"I'm going to the bath, I'll play when I get back."  
Shira and Jo started protesting but Takami didn't listen. She left the room, promising not to take too long, and closed it behind her. Shira slumped back into her seat, but Jo was grinning rather cheekily. Out of all of them, Jo came up with probably the worst dares of all.

"Shira, I have a dare for you." Everyone look up to Jo, Shira wincing slightly. The look of regret was clear on her face as she tried to think of anything and everything Jo might possibly come up with. She nodded, as though giving Jo permission to continue, and the latter nodded towards the door that Takami had just walked out of.

"In ten minutes, go to the bath room and steal Takami's clothes."

"Shit, you girls are evil," Jean muttered. Meyer looked over her shoulder, grinning at her brother.

"What makes you think you're getting out of truth or dare?"

"I am an innocent cripple who was forced to come?"

"Innocent," Ishimura snorted. Shira on the other hand looked rather comfortable. Jo's dare was easy and hardly embarassing, for her in any case. She settled back into the chair, looking around for her prey. Ishimura let out a sigh, trying not to look her in the eye. She bypassed her, thankfully, and her gaze settled on their beloved captain.

"Meyer, truth or dare." Meyer stiffened slightly, her grin obviously forced and she let out a breath. Scratching the side of her head, she contemplated the question. Shira was just as bad as Jo half the time, but it was her truth's that were the problem. By the look they shared, the pair were already considering teaming up with one another.

"Truth, I guess." Shira clapped her hands together excitedly. Meyer seemed to pale and Ishimura was thanking the heavens that Shira hadn't picked her.

"Who would you rather, er..." Shira trailed off as her gaze landed on Jean. The boy was leaning on his elbows, looking at her with a bemused expression. Ishimura almost punched the sky, as long as Jean stayed in the room then Shira would be too conscious to ask a question that was rude.

"I can go," Jean grinned, rolling over and grabbing one crutch. Ishimura scowled as he made an escape, he flashed her a 'suck it' expression as he walked past. Ishimura was tempted to kick his crutch out the way, and for once Meyer seemed to hold the same idea.

"So, Meyer," their captain flinched, "who do you think would be better in bed? Kiyoshi-Kun, or Kagami-Kun? Oh, and you have tell us why." The look on Meyer's face looked as though she wanted to throw Shira out the window. Jo and Ishimura cracked into laughter, but all were eagerly awaiting her answer, that is if she answered. If she didn't, it would be a pretty good risk for her. To refuse answering a truth, she would have to complete a dare.

"I, er, I don't, ah," Meyer stumbled over her answer, her cheeks flashing red slightly as she scratched the back of her neck. Shira was leaning forward in anticipation and everyone could already tell she had a dare up her sleeve in case Meyer didn't want to answer. Meyer bit her lip, her shoulders slumping and her head resting against the mattress. "Fuck it, give me a dare."

"Next time you see Kagami-Kun, you have to give him a kiss, and not a peck either. It had to be a proper one."

"No way! That's bull shit!" Meyer shouted, her arms crossing over her chest. Ishimura saw her eyes flicked to her, almost asking for help on the dare and Ishimura just shook her head. She'd been suckered into kissing a range of people over the past few years thanks to Shira's dares, there was no way Meyer was going to get out of this.

"Come on Meyer, a dare's a dare," Jo waggled her finger at her friend and Meyer looked like she was about to bite it off. She resigned herself to her fate with a growl, shaking her head. As long as she steered clear of Seirin, this wouldn't be a problem. Besides, if she did run into him, she might not be with someone and she could just get him to agree to lie. And if she ran into him with the girls, he might just refuse the kiss.

"Fine. Yuki."

"What did I do to you?" Ishimura whined as soon as she heard her name. Meyer rolled her eyes, waiting for her to give her an answer to the silent question. Ishimura sighed, rocking her shoulders back. If she chose truth and found something that she didn't like, then she would have to do dare. But if the dare was worse, then that's bad. But if she chose dare, and the truth was worse, she would have to answer it. "Ugh, I hate you all. Truth."

"Who would you rather be locked in a room with, Kagami or Midorima?"

"I'd probably just kill the both of them."

"No, you have to make a choice Yuki-Chan," Shira sang as she hung off the chair. Ishimura glared at her before glowering at Meyer. To be fair, the question was easier than what Meyer had been stuck with.

"Eugh, fine. Probably Carrot-Chan, he gets flustered easily so it's funny." Ishimura immediately regretted that decision. Shira seemed to have a spark in her eye that was pretty dangerous and Meyer kicked Ishimura's foot, warning her. It was starting to get dangerous.

"Jo, truth or dare."

"Whichever," Jo yawned. She laid back on the bed, staring up at the roof. Ishimura scowled. Jo was never any fun when she wasn't giving the dares, because most of the time she didn't care about what they thought. She was only self conscious about her height, but hell, there wasn't anything they could really do about that. Ishimura rubbed her chin, trying to think of something.

"I dare you to..." Ishimura trailed off, frowing and trying to figure something out for Jo. There wasn't a lot she could think of doing that would bother Jo. She clicked her fingers, grinning happily. "Play the rest of truth or dare in one of Ishimura's crop tops."

Jo looked like she was going to kill Ishimura, and Ishimura was annoyed she hadn't figured out a better dare than that. Shira jumped to her feet, running out of the room to snatch up one of her shirts while Jo pulled her own off. It wasn't that Jo was in bad shape, in fact out of all of them she was the most fit, Jo had just always refused to wear a crop top of any sort. Ishimura briefly remembered Shira saying something Jo thinking it made her look taller, but this was pay back for the pole.

"Ishimura, back to you."

"You're going to be picking on me now aren't you?"

"Did I make it obvious?" Jo growled, crossing her arms over her chest. Ishimura was stuck for what to choose. Get stuck with a dare by choosing truth, or get stuck with a truth by choosing dare. If Meyer had been asking she would go with either, the captain was pretty mellow.

"Eh, fuck it. Truth." Jo wasn't too good at the truths.

"Would you rather play basketball for the rest of your life, or running?"

"Basketball," Ishimura snorted, pleased that the question was easy. As before, Jo wasn't too good at questions. Shira came back into the room, holding a bleach white crop top and she threw it at Jo. The latter turned her nose up at the garment but pulled it on either way.

"Aw, you look cute Jo."

"You need to go to the bath room," Jo muttered in reply. Shira looked confused for a moment before realising what Jo was talking about. She grinned and disappeared from the room again, much to Ishimura's disappointment. She was going to get Shira for a truth or dare, but she just looked back to Meyer. If Saka were here it would be more fun, especially with Shutoku... Ishimura grinned. This should be interesting.

"Meyer, truth or dare."

"I don't like the way your smiling at me," Meyer commented, shifting uncomfortably.

"Just make a choice."

"Truth." Ishimura racked her brains. What was a question Meyer would be completely and utterly unwilling to answer. She couldn't ask the Kagami and Kiyoshi question again, Meyer would tire of it and just give an answer and Ishimura wanted to save that question for later. She needed something though, and she couldn't for the life of her figure something out. Meyer was honest about so many things that, wait.

"You never did tell me who you..."

"Dare." Meyer changed it quickly, her cheeks flushing red as she already knew what question Ishimura was going to ask. Even Jo had cracked a grin, figuring it out as well.

"Good girl," Ishimura chimed, "now go and serenade Carrot-Chan."

"Wait, what?" Meyer looked genuinely confused at Ishimura's dare, but Jo just looked impressed. They often forgot about Meyer's talents outside of basketball, but this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"I said, go and serenade Carrot-Chan."

"Why do I keep getting the short end of the stick."

"I got the short clothes," Jo challenged. Meyer sighed, raking her fingers through her hair.

"At least lets wait until Shira and Takami get back."

"Fine, make a choice."

"Yuki."

"It's pick on Yuki day isn't it? Truth."

"Who would you kiss out of Aomine and Hotaru?" Ishimura could have punched Meyer in the mouth and the captain knew it. Jo had cracked up laughing and Ishimura returned to scowling. This was more than just picking on her, Meyer wanted to force her into a dare. Nope, Ishimura thought, I'm not falling for my own trap.

"Aomine obviously. I may hate his style of basketball but I would rather kiss him."

"Seriously?" Jo sounded surprised, her mouth popping open as she stopped laughing. Even Meyer was staring back in surprise, not expecting Ishimura to answer. They both were silent for a moment before the door burst open. Shira was squealing and threw the clothes into the room, grinning like a maniac.

"Okay, funniest thing," she giggled. At least that's what Jo thought she said, she was laughing pretty hard and panting at the same time. "So I stole the clothes, but Takami was pretty much coming out so she was in a towel, so she chased me down the corridor and... ah!"

The door burst open, an incredibly red faced and seething Takami standing at the door. She was clutching her towel so tight with her right hand that her knuckles were bone white, and her jaw was clenched that her breaths came out in hisses. She narrowed her eyes on Shira, who let out a high pitched scream and bolted to Jo. Jo tried to move out of the way but Shira latched onto her arm.

"Hey whoa, what happened?" Meyer questioned. Takami's face just grew redder, but she found her phone in her clothes and started brandishing it like a weapon. Shira screamed again, the sound rather blood curdling and Jo was worried someone might get the wrong idea.

"They are what happened!" Takami shrieked, trying to get past Jo to Shira. The latter emitted a noise that was half way between a muffled shriek and a giggle. Jo threw her arms out, trying to shield Shira. Whatever happened was partly her fault and she wasn't about to let Shira go down alone.

"Yeah, I'm confused," Ishimura muttered, scratching the back of her head. The game was momentarily forgotten as Takami glowered at Shira.

"Seirin is here and Takami flashed them!" Shira shouted loudly. Takami growled and threw her phone. Hard. It hit Shira in the face and she went down, howling like a banshee as she clutched her face. Jo looked back only momentarily before Takami kicked her in the thigh.

"Ow, fuck, what?" Jo snapped, collapsing on the bed and rubbing her thigh where Takami had kicked.

"Wait, why did you flash Seirin?" Ishimura questioned before letting out a yelp. She barely managed to duck out of the way of Takami's fist.

"I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE!"

"You should have seen Kagami's face!" Shira half giggled, half grimaced as she still clutched her face. Jo gave Shira a dead arm, knocking her off the bed and in an awkward heap on the ground. Before Meyer had a chance to ask Takami what the hell exactly had happened, the door was practically thrown open. Jean stepped into the room and Jo spied a very confused Takao and Midorima standing just outside the door. How long exactly had they been there for?

"Who the fuck was making all that noise?" Jean demanded, leaning on one of his crutches. All the girl pointed to Shira, who in turn pointed Takami who had suddenly calmed down a hell of a lot. She let out a sigh, shaking her head and looking to Meyer's little brother in irritation.

"Shira stole my clothes from the bath room."

"Because Kida dared... What are you wearing?" Jo looked down, momentarily forgetting her current clothing arrangement. Her face grew slightly red as she looked back up to Jean, shrugging her shoulders and nodding back to Ishimura. Jean shook his head. "Alright, I think that's enough truth or dare for tonight."

"Wait, were you guys playing truth or dare? Come on Shin-Chan, that would be fun!" Takao crowed, almost shoving Jean out of the way as he barreled into the room. Takami squeaked, making sure her grip on her towel was tight as Takao looked around.

"No, Jean is right, I think we've had enough tonight," Jo objected. Ishimura snorted, walking over to Takao and put her arm around his shoulders.

"Look at him Jo, how can you say no such a cute face?" Ishimura asked, grabbing Takao's jaw with her other hand and shaking his head a bit. Shira's eyes flashed bright as she nodded, her hand finally coming away from her face to reveal a bruise already forming. She seemed to completely forget it, latching herself onto Jo's back and pointing to Takao.

"Yeah, come on, it would be fun with him and Carrot-Chan!"

"Besides," Ishimura grinned, using her thumb to point back to Midorima, who was still lingering unsure of what to do at the door. He had considered leaving, but he didn't want to leave Takao alone with Iwozuka. He didn't trust them to return Takao as he was, considering the round of screams they had heard earlier. He stiffened at Ishimura's recognition of him still hanging around, slightly worried about what she was going to say. "You still have to serenade him, don't you Meyer?"


	13. Truth or Dare : Shutoku

Midorima's cheeks were flushed red. He had been forced to stand in the middle of the room with Meyer kneeling on one knee before him, and he wasn't allowed to sit down until she finished singing 'That's Amore'. Takao had been giggling the whole time, mostly by the terrified expression on Midorima's face. It wasn't that Meyer had a bad voice, on the contrary, even though Midorima didn't completely know what she was saying, the sound of her singing soothed him slightly. He was terrified because every time he looked up from her he would see Jo and Shira whispering to one another, hushing quickly whenever he looked up. He felt very uneasy and wanted to drag Takao out of the room.

There was no chance of that. Takao had effectively wedge himself in the space between the two beds, grinning happily at being included in the girls game. Ishimura was sitting on the ground, leaning against the foot of the bed on the right of him, whilst Jean occupied the mattress to his left. Effectively, Midorima was cut off from even being able to sit next to him for the preposterous game that he didn't even want to be a part of.

Meyer finished the song and was greeted with an applause, and laughter, from her friends. She stood up straight, bowed dramatically, before patting Midorima on the arm. She gave him a soft, comforting smile, but it didn't help with his uneasiness. He didn't exactly trust Ishimura. He chose the spot next to Takami, who had managed to put clothes on, leaving an open space next to him which Meyer quickly occupied.

"So who's turn is it?" Ishimura questioned, trying to think back. Jo looked to her smirking as she brought her hand to her chin.

"Well, yours. You admitted that you would rather kiss..."

"Okay, okay I remember now sheesh," Ishimura muttered. There was no way she wanted Shira to know the answer, even though Jo would probably be telling her later on. She looked around the room, trying to find her next victim. Midorima looked like he was about to burst, and he would be too easy to irritate into leaving, so she should probably leave him for the moment. Takao looked way too enthusiastic for her and Takami was victim of Jo's first dare. "Kid, what do you want?"

"A sister who has normal friends."

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Pick one."

"Dare."

"I dare you too..." Ishimura frowned. She hadn't thought this through. Half of the things she could think of Jean wasn't exactly capable of completing. She scratched her chin, trying to think. She could use him as a messenger if anything, but what did she want. Ishimura grinned, clicking her fingers and pointing to the door. "Go and find the rest of the Shutoku team we played today, and Katsumi too if you want, and bring them back here."

"How the hell am I meant to do that?" Jean questioned. Takao pointed to Midorima.

"Say Shin-Chan's getting laid, that would make them come running." The girls burst into giggles but Midorima turned bright red. Takami noticed the look on Midorima's face and gave him a smile, patting his shoulder.

"It's a joke." Midorima looked to her for a moment, before glowering in Takao's direction. First he gets Midorima into this mess and then he starts mocking him. He turned his nose up, wanting this ridiculous game to be over with already.

"Before I go, Midorima, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"You have to sleep with either Ishimura or Shira, who do you choose?" Takao burst out into giggles as Midorima's eyes seemed to bug. His mouth opened and closed and Ishimura let out a laugh. Shira looked interested in the answer, leaning towards him and making a kissing face.

"I, ugh, dare. Give me a dare."

"All right, the next dare that is given, you have to do it. Otherwise, you get the Refusal Punishment." Jean disappeared out the door, intent on completing Ishimura's dare. The girls all released an 'ooh' that sent a shiver of fear down Midorima, and even Takao's back.

"What's the Refusal Punishment?" Takao questioned. Ishimura looked to him, then back to Midorima, grinning slightly.

"You have to run around outside for five minutes, completely starkers." Midorima paled and stood, ready to leave the room but Takami and Meyer pulled him down, shaking their heads. Takao's mouth was hanging open but then he let out a laugh. Shira rolled her eyes, doubting that he would be bother by running around outside naked. Midorima on the other hand looked like he was about to kill them. Shira tilted her head to the side. Actually when she thought about it he seemed to have a constipated expression most of the time.

"All right, stop terrifying the poor boy," Meyer laughed, smacking Midorima on the back. He jolted, obviously surprised at her strength. He seemed a lot more tense than Takao, who was humming happily to himself, waiting for someone to do something. "It's your turn, Midorima."

"Ah," Midorima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He was never good at playing truth or dare, and the last time he had he quickly left the game after Akashi delivered a rather fierce dare. He looked around, seeing everyone was eagerly awaiting his choice. He felt as though he couldn't choose Takao, like it would be rude to do so, and instead looked around to the girls. This was not how he had intended to spend the night. "Takami-San."

"Truth." Midorima wasn't sure what to ask. He knew that the questions were often meant to embarass the person being asked, or to find out something interesting, but he had no idea what to ask.

"Ah, how tall are your team mates and yourself?"

"Boring Shin-Chan," Takao groaned, resting his head against the mattress and rolling his eyes. Midorima was about to snap but Ishimura glowered, slumping closer to the ground.

"Course Takami get's the easy question."

"It is because I have not been rude to anyone," Takami grinned, clearly pleased with her easy question after her embarassing moment earlier. She had, after calming down and promising not to kill Shira, explained what happened. After she saw Shira take her clothes, she chased after her out of the bath room in her towel. Shira turned the corner and Takami followed, only to run straight into Hyuuga. She fell back and landed hard on her ass, the towel slipping and revealing her chest. Luckily it didn't reveal much more and she was quick to cover herself in any case. Still, she had been mortified that it happened in front of four of the Seirin players, but she didn't stick around to get a good look at who it was. Shira only knew Kagami was in the mix because she almost barreled into him herself. "All right then, I'm one hundred and seventy nine, Meyer's one sixty four, Jo's two hundred and Shira's one ninety. I forget how tall Ishimura is, but it's just a little taller than me. Any way, Shira, your turn."

"Dare," Shira shrugged. She was rarely phazed by the games like Jo, but Takami would be out for blood. She scratched her chin, trying to think of a suitable punishment before giving out a broad grin. It was only that she was smiling wide did Midorima see she was missing her first premolar on the right.

"You have to get Saka to agree to go on a date with someone when we get back. If you don't succeed within a week, you have to complete the Refusal Punishment after the final match at the Winter Cup at your mums work." Shira groaned and the girls cracked into laughter. There was no way that Shira would be able to convince Saka to go on a date. The poor girl couldn't talk to boys, let alone be left alone with them. Giving Aomine his ball back that day had been a rather big step for her.

"Great, just perfect. Oh well, I'm going to make myself feel better. Oh Carrot-Chan!" Shira sung his name and Midorima felt his heart pounding. Why were they picking on him so much? Takao was the one who wanted to play. He saw the look in her eye and shrunk back slightly. She was not the person he wanted to choose him, ever, she was not trust worthy. Her eyes flickered towards Ishimura for a moment then back to Midorima. He thought he heard her mutter 'not even I'm that mean' before sitting up a little straighter. "I got one!"

"I didn't say whether..."

"Jean's dare," Meyer reminded him and Midorima felt his cheeks flush. This was not good.

"You sir, have to play shirtless!" Shira declared, jumping up as she did so and pointing a finger at him. Midorima turned his chin up slightly. It wasn't as bad as what he had expected from her, but it wasn't what he wanted either. The idea of taking his shirt off and sitting around, especially with one whom he now knew was definitely a pervert, was not enticing. However, the look on her face and the reaction they had before when they spoke about the Refusal Punishment told him he was going to lose his shirt one way or another.

Midorima stood sharply and Shira was expecting him to glower, say this game was ridiculous and demand Takao to leave with him. Instead he gripped the bottom of his shirt and lifted it up in one swift move. Shira's mouth fell open with a loud pop and even Jo's eyes grew slightly wide. Sure, he was a basketballer but...

"Holy shit," Ishimura spoke for Shira. She, like her friend, was staring with her mouth open at the now shirtless Midorima. He blushed slightly before pushing his glasses up, muttering something or other about how their reactions were something or other but Shira had trouble focusing on his words.

"Grumpy-San."

"I assume you're referring to me," Ishimura commented, pointing to herself when Midorima turned her way. He nodded curtly and Ishimura scowled. No matter how impressed she was moments before, she returned to normal pretty quickly. She could see Shira still checking Midorima out though and for once Ishimura was pissed Saka wasn't here. Her reaction would have been priceless. "Alright, ah, dare."

She had seen his truths and his dares probably couldn't have been much worse. He scratched his chin for a moment before his eyes shifted to Takao. Jo snorted, already knowing what Midorima was going to dare. He had been awkward before but obeyed the rules, even though she could see he didn't really want to. She could almost see him going over all the movies he'd seen that included truth or dare and spin the bottle, and with Takao in the room, who had surprisingly been sitting patiently and quiet throughout the whole game so far, was no doubt going to be a part of this dare.

"Kiss Takao."

"Huh?"

"What?" Takao and Ishimura reacted at the same time, both completely caught off by his dare. Jo shook her head. She'd guessed it already.

"This is a game of truth and dare, it is only expected that..."

"You know what, don't try and explain it," Ishimura shook her hand in front of her, palm facing Midorima. His voice trailed out as he watched, a little surprised as she turned to Takao. With one hand she gripped the point guards collar, pulling him towards her. Takao reached out quickly, grabbing the back of her neck as their lips crashed together. Midorima felt his cheeks burn slightly as the girls cheered. He hadn't expected Ishimura to go along with it, nor did he expect Takao to agree.

Shira was about to say something when the door burst open, a very confused looking Miyaji stepping into the room, closely followed by Otsubo and Kimura. She narrowed down to Miyaji's hands, seeing he was holding a pineapple. To each his own, Shira supposed. Instead she threw her arms out wide, grinning madly at the new trio. "Welcome to the den of iniquity!"

The three of them looked around confused before their eyes landed on Takao and Ishimura, their faces centimetres apart. Takao's cheeks were slightly red and he was cheekily grinning up to his seniors, whilst Ishimura was wearing a scowl. She pulled away from Takao, settling back in her position before, and Takao looked genuinely disappointed. Next they noticed that Midorima was sitting in between Meyer and Takami, shirtless and blushing slightly.

"Ah, what's going on here?" Otsubo asked. His gaze flickered between Takao and Midorima, trying to figure it out. Jean took this chance to slip back into the room, settling on the arm of Shira's chair, watching with a smirk as the events before him unfolded. Meyer wondered what her brother might have said to them that they had come running, and why the hell was Miyaji holding a pineapple?Where'd he even get it from?

"Orgy," Shira and Ishimura replied at the same time, not even missing a beat. They looked to each other and grinned, biting back laughs.

"Midorima suggested it," Jo continued, giving them a short nod. Midorima's mouth fell open with a pop and he begun spluttering, becoming slightly distressed. Probably because Miyaji held the pineapple up, narrowing his eyes and getting ready to peg it at his head.

"Yeah, but Grumpy-San was the first to instigate," Takami shrugged her shoulders. Meyer shook her head, looking quite forlorn as she looked to her team mate.

"Poor Takao, Yuki all but jumped on him."

"What about Shira, she pulled Midorima's shirt off!" Ishimura tried her hardest to bite back her laughter but she failed. Her voice cracked and Jo turned away, clamping her hand over her mouth. Otsubo looked between the girls, seeing their expressions and he raised one eyebrow.

"So what were you really doing?"

"Truth or dare, wanna play?" Ishimura asked as she moved to sit on the bed, effectively making room for them to sit down. Miyaji lowered the pineapple, frowning as he continued looking at the girls. How the hell they managed to convince Midorima to get his shirt off, he couldn't even guess, but it lower his wishes to play with them. They seemed quite mischevious.

"Not for long, we have training early tomorrow morning," Otsubo resigned. He sat on the bed next to Takao, leaning back to try and look casual, whilst Miyaji sat down on the ground in front of Ishimura. Kimura hesitated the most out of all of them, looking around and finally settling, rather awkwaardly, next to Meyer.

"Perfect, more victims," Shira grinned, clapping her hands together.

"Victims?" Miyaji looked to her and she suddenly looked very innocent. Putting one fore finger to her chin, Shira looked up to the sky.

"Did I say victims? I meant players. Yuki-Chan, it's your turn. You going to get revenge on Carrot-Chan for making you kiss Takao?" Shira questioned, tilting her head. Ishimura snorted, ignoring the surprised look Miyaji shot her. She looked around, trying to find a suitable 'victim' as Shira had so delicately put it.

"Takami."

"Truth."

"How many people have you kissed?" Takami's cheeks flushed a deep red as she rubbed the back of her neck. Her eyes dropped to the ground as she began talking to herself. Shira seemed interested as well. They very rarely got to hear about Takami's love life, not because they weren't interested but because most of the time she kept to herself about it.

"Seven," Takami answered after thinking it through. Ishimura grinned, a little too evilly and knew that her next comment was going to be snarky already, but she couldn't pass it up.

"How many did you imagine as Meyer, hmm?" Takami scowled and Meyer shot Ishimura a warning glance. The latter put her hands up, making the peace and Takami nodded slightly, still scowling. She was forgiven, purely because a comment hadn't been made about their sleeping arrangements.

"My turn. Ah, Miyaji?" Takami looked to the blonde third year, frowning at him slightly. He nodded, confirming that was his name.

"Dare."

"I dare you to..." Takami's eyes landed on the pineapple "confess your love to Pineapple-Chan."

"Pineapple-Chan?" Takami pointed to the fruit in his lap and he looked slightly confused for a moment. He looked back up to Takami, frowning but then shrugged it off. Holding the pineapple up, he looked around slightly self-conscious before laughing to himself. "Oh Pineapple-Chan, I am madly and deeply in love you."

"Boring," Jo yawned, patting her mouth and egging Miyaji on.

"Pineapple-Chan is not impressed."

"Put a little more emotion into it."

"Come on Miyaji, make it real!" The girls all started egging Miyaji on, not letting him off the hook. He looked to Takao, almost asking for help, but the point guard was laughing too hard. Otsubo was even less help, he'd started a conversation with Ishimura over the game they played earlier that week.

"Oh Pineapple-Chan, your hair is as green as the, ugh, mountains are, ah, high."

"Are you confessing to the pineapple or Midorima?" Shira cackled. Miyaji promptly put the fruit on the ground, scowling and glaring at Shira. That only made her and Takao laugh even harder than before and not long after he heard Kimura's chuckle wafting over to him.

"All right, all right, it's my turn now. Shira, truth or dare?"

"Truth, and be warned, he's fourteen," Shira grinned, putting her arm around Jean. Miyaji frowned, realising the implication of Jean being in the room. It would have been distasteful to ask a rude question in front of the girls (though not akward as Takao had realised) but with Jean in the room it limited the choices of what they could do and say.

"Do you always play underhanded games?"

"Only when we can't be bother playing properly," Shira shrugged, not realising how her words may have stung Shutoku, "Carrot-Chan, you're up."

"Dare." Ah, clever boy, figured out the way to get out of dares.

"Do a strip tease."

"Absolutely not, truth."

"Good boy," Shira smirked and Midorima's face fell into a scowl. Shira shot him a peace sign, pulling a ridiculously childish smile in his direction. She just loved pissing him off, she just didn't know why. "How old were you when you had your first kiss?"

To say Midorima looked startled would have been a massive understatement. He looked awkward all of a sudden, his cheeks turning crimson as he tore his eyes to the ground. Meyer looked to Shira, shaking her head slightly as Midorima started to stumble over his word. Even Ishimura looked slightly worried about his reaction, but fortunately for Midorima the door to their room was thrown open.

"How did I know they would sucker you in here?" Katsumi laughed, shaking her head. She looked to the boys from Shutoku, frowning at Midorima's state but said nothing about it, instead pointing out the door. "Coach Nakatani has asked for everyone to return to their rooms. So, whatever you were - Miyaji is that a pineapple?"

"It's Pineapple-Chan and it's his beloved."

"Either that or Shin-Chan is," Takao added, earning the pineapple to the middle of his back. He let out a yelp, running out of the room. As he did, he looked to the pineapple on the ground then back to Miyaji. "That's not how to treat your true love."

Miyaji picked the pineapple off the ground and chased Takao. Midorima was putting his shirt back on, his cheeks still slightly pink from the last question, and Ishimura tilted her head. Meyer walked over to quickly talk to Katsumi, walking out of the room with her. Otsubo and Kimura walked out after them, Shira hanging next to Otsubo and pestering him with questions. Ishimura walked over to Midorima, feeling a little sorry for how flustered he had grown from the last question. She could guess the answer.

"Yo, Carrot-Chan."

"My name is Midorima."

"Carrotima-Chan." Midorima sighed, turning to Ishimura, wondering what he had done in his past life to earn two people who were insistent of giving him horrible nicknames. He straightened his shirt and huffed, crossing his arms and waiting for Ishimura to say whatever it was she wanted to say. "It was fun playing truth or dare with you and Laughing Boy. We need to do it again."  
Midorima looked slightly confused at her comment, but he was even more confused when she stretched up on her tippy toes and gave him a light kiss on his cheek, which promptly flushed the slightest shade redder. He grumbled that he will consider playing truth or dare with them again before walking out of the room.

"I saw that you know, Grumpy-San." Ishimura looked over to Jo, shrugging her shoulders. She didn't care if Jo was going to pay her out for it, she kissed Takao too. Ishimura slumped on the bed, knowing already that she had acquired a new nickname, and stared up at the roof. Did this count as making friends?


	14. Saka Kiko

Saka wiped the sweat from her brow as she chased the ball down the court. She easily fell into defense, snatching the ball away and passing it off before letting out a sigh. She played with this team all middle school but, just like in primary school, once the Senpai's had gone she lost the will to keep playing. It wasn't that she didn't adore her friends from the basketball club, she just missed being able to go and play with the Iwozuka team.

"Only a little bit of time left," Saka mumbled to herself as she started running again. She missed Takami and Jo training her to learn the three point shots. She could manage them a metre off the three point line but not much further from that. She missed Ishimura making fun of her and Shira trying to get her to talk to boys, albeit not that much. She missed hanging around in a near empty gym at the end of training as Meyer talked her through basketball strategies and what the best way to approach the team was. She missed playing with the other Queens. She missed being a Queen.

"Saka, focus!" Coach Takashi called, bringing her back to the present time. A pass came straight for her and she caught with ease. It was missing the impact that Ishimura's passes, the sting of Jo's. She dribbled down the court, easily dodging anyone who tried to take the ball from her and passed the ball off to someone else. A few minutes later Coach blew his whistle, letting the girls know training was over. Saka sighed happily, following the rest of the girls into the change room.

"Are you going to go see the movie tonight? It's meant to be really scary."

"No way, I don't like scary movies."

"The boys are going to be coming, you have to come!" Saka could hear the girls chattering behind her, trying not to be insulted. She'd heard nothing about a movie night and by the looks of everyone else, the whole team had been invited along. She wasn't surprised they hadn't thought to invite her, the mention of boys would have turned them off. Still, it would have been nice to be invited so she could have refused it.

Saka pulled her shirt off and sprayed deoderant all over. She could just have a shower later, no big deal. As she was pulling another shirt over her head she heard the door crash open to the girls change rooms. She didn't pay any attention to what was hurriedly being said because it was a lot of blabber mostly, until she heard 'high school boy waiting at the door'. Turning around, she began listening carefully.

"He's just standing at the door, talking to coach. I think they must know each other, but holy shit, he's gorgeous!"

"You think he's an ex student?"

"I've never saw him around, he's got to be a second year!"

"A second year?"

Oh no. No no no no. Saka quickly bundled her hair into a loose ponytail and stuffed her shirt into her bag. She could only imagine who was standing out in the gym talking to Coach right now. Wrenching her bag from the bench she shoved her way through her team mates, who looked at her in surprise. Saka was normally very polite, but at the moment she wasn't in the mood for being polite. Why was he here?

As soon as she stepped out of the locker room she saw him. He was leaning against the door, fingers working the screen of his phone. Coach must have gone back to his office because Kazuki was alone in the gym. He didn't look up from his phone as she walked over and Saka looked him up and down. His jeans were quite tight and slightly unreasonable considering the heat, but he made up for it with a loose singlet with large holes for the arm, showing some of his torso. Saka tilted her head, having forgotten for a moment he was a basketball captain for Iwozula.

"There you are, who says girls take forever getting changed?" Kazuki looked up, letting out a cheerful laugh. Saka just rolled her eyes, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out of the gym. At the contact her cheeks flaired up, turning her into a Christmas tree but she didn't let go. What the hell was he doing here, why was he here, why, why, why? "Whoa, vice grip Ki-Chan, loosen it plea - ah okay, vice grip's fine, vice grip's fine!"

Saka scowled but her face only grew hotter. It wasn't until they were off the school grounds completely did she turn to Kazuki. He was just grinning like he always did, one hand in the pocket of his jeans and the other hanging limply just below Saka's grip. When she realised what she had done she dropped his wrist quickly, rubbing her cheek and trying to bring the redness down.

"W-w-what are y-y-you doing h-here?" Saka demanded. Kazuki frowned before looking around the street, shrugging his shoulders.

"Our practice was cancelled today and I was bored."

"S-s-so y-y-you came h-here?"

"Well, the others are off in some mountain..." Kazuki trailed off, running his hand through his hair. He turned to face the road, leaning against the brick wall that made the schools fence, looking to Saka out the corner of his eye. "I can go, if you don't want to hang out."

"N-n-no, that's f-fi-fine. Just l-let m-me know next t-t-time."

"But then it wouldn't be a surprise." Saka scowled, shaking her head before readjusting her bag. Kazuki was fighting back a grin, so he put one hand on her shoulder and used the other to tilt her face up to him. Her face immediately flushed ten shades darker red and Kazuki grinned a little. She was just too adorable. "I promise next time I will let you know."

Her mouth opened and closed as she let out a squeak of a noise. Kazuki stepped back quickly, shoving his hands into his pockets and letting out a chuckle. It sounded more awkward than he had hoped, so he coughed to cover it up. Saka was staring at the ground, her fingers wrapped tight around the strap of her bag.

"Ah, so what did you want to do then?" Kazuki questioned. He scratched the back of his head before stuffing his hand back into his pocket as they began walking down the street. Saka looked up at him, dumbfounded. He came all the way here to hang out with her, and he didn't even have anything planned?

"Y-y-you're not v-very g-good at this, Kaz-Kazuki-Kun. N-n-no wonder y-you can't g-get a g-girlfriend."

"You think I need a girlfriend?"

"M-Meyer-San d-d-doesn't like ind-indecision."

"You think I should date Meyer?" Kazuki was staring at her open mouthed. Saka shrugged, staring at the tip of his nose. She didn't dare look him in the eye. At first Saka thought Kazuki and Meyer would be good. She called him Katsuo and he was more than friendly to her. Now she was thinking that would be a bad idea. If Kazuki asked Meyer to hang out with her without a plan she wouldn't be impressed.

"N-no, you wouldn't im-impress her without knowing what y-y-you were g-going to d-do."

"That's good. I mean, Meyer is chill and I love hanging around with her, but she's not the main reason I do, you know?"

"Shira?"

"You're funny, you know that?"

"W-What's wrong with Shira?"

"Nothing, I love her," Kazuki put his hands up, trying to make peace. Saka scowled, rolling her eyes at him. "It's just Shira loves everyone."

"She's not that bad. What about Jo?" Saka suggested. She was surprised to look up to Kazuki and see him smiling gently down to her. He looked straight ahead when he realised he had been caught, clearing his throat with a cough. "What was that?"

"Nothing. Jo, no way, she'd rip my head off if she had the chance."

"Kazuki-Kun, don't ignore me, why were you looking like that?"

"I can't say, you'll start up again. Oh look, frozen yoghurt, let's get some!" Kazuki grabbed Saka by the crook of her elbow, dragging her across the road. He caught her off guard and she stumbled behind him. Saka knew the yoghurt store, after practice the team would go and get some. They never invited Saka.

"You changed the subject," Saka pointed out as Kazuki opened the door. She walked in before him, still grumbling but he just let out a light laugh.

"And I did so spectacularly. Get a seat, I'll get us yoghurt. Strawberry, right?"

"How did you know?"

"I'm a genius."

"You sound like Ishimura," Saka shouted after him as she slipped into the booth. Kazuki just laughed back at her before talking to the woman behind the counter. The last time Saka had been in here was when the girls had played their last game for middle school. Meyer had named her Captain of the basketball club. Everyone, including Saka, had been incredibly surprised. It was true that Saka was Vice Captain but she was perfectly fine with that. Everyone expected Meyer to choose Asami Mai, but Meyer must have seen past her blatant kiss-assery. Saka smiled slightly. It was true that Asami was a brilliant basketballer but her personality wasn't one Saka felt comfortable around. Meyer had admitted that the idea of Asami being Captain made her sick to her stomach.

"Saka, what are you doing here?" Saka squeaked, looking up. Asami was standing in front of her, clutching onto her boyfriends arm. She looked unimpressed their Captain was in the yoghurt shop, despite her being one of the first to start the tradition. Half of the team were starting to sit down, looking over in interest. Saka felt her cheeks flush bright red as she looked down. Why did Dosojin Baku have to be here?

"I-I-I w-w-was j-j-just..."

"J-j-just what?" Asami spat the words out. Saka focused her eyes even harder on the surface of the table, unsure of what to do or say. If Meyer were here, she'd tell Asami to go away. Shira would tell her to fuck off. Ishimura would just make her. Saka sat there, staring, feeling her joints begin to lock up as her cheeks grew redder. "W-w-well Saka?"

"I-I-I am j-j-just..."

"Kiko." Kazuki had returned to the table, standing and looking at Asami and Dosogin witha frown. He was holding the strawberry yoghurt in one hand, the other had returned to the depths of his pockets. Asami was blinking at Kazuki, her mouth hanging open slightly. Saka took the chance to stand up and move from sitting in the booth.

"K-K-Kazuki-Kun, w-w-we should g-g-go." A shadow passed over Kazuki's face as he slowly placed the yoghurt on the table in front of where she had been sitting. He roughly shoved his hand into his pocket, turning to face Asami and Dosojin, and leant against the table. He looked like he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"I know you from somewhere. You a basket baller?" Kazuki questioned, looking to Dosojin. He tilted his head to the side, smiling politely, but Saka could still see that shadow. He looked angry about something, but what it was she didn't know.

"Yeah I am, I'm lining up to join Kaijo next year."

"Kaijo, that's pretty big. And what about you, where you planning to go? Iwozuka?"

"Shutoku, to play under Katsumi Ai," Asami smiled happily to herself. Kazuki nodded, looking between the pair before letting out a light chuckle.

"Well, I wish you all the luck you can get trying to impress the Captains," Kazuki sighed, picking up the frozen yoghurt. His words stung Saka a little bit, wishing he wasn't being so polite. Did he think they were really good friends just because they played on the same team?

"I don't need luck, and neither does she," Dosojin muttered to Kazuki. Asami was looking at the high schooler strangely, obviously confused by why he was wishing them luck. Kazuki straightened himself up, tilting his head to the side again and smiling ruefully.

"Oh you're going to need it, after I talk to the Captain's and recommend you not being on their teams," Kazuki spat before grabbing Saka's hand, "come on Kiko."

Kazuki was rougher than before, tugging Saka along behind him as he headed for the door. She stumbled again, almost tripping over but she managed to scramble along after him. Kazuki's palm smacked hard onto the handle of the door, shoving it open but he didn't let go or slow down, dragging her down the street.

"K-K-Kazuki-K-Kun, c-can y-y-you l-loos-sen your f-fingers p-please?" Saka asked, trying to tug her hand away. They had reached the corner of the street and Kazuki stopped, looking over his shoulder to her and blinking twice. He released her hand, stuffing his hand into the pocket and holding the frozen yoghurt out to her.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing his jaw when Saka received the bowl of frozen yoghurt. His eyes flickered to the ground and he seemed to lose all of his earlier cheerful demeanour. Saka looked up to him, slightly worried. He didn't look like the Kazuki she had come to know over the year.

"A-are y-y-you okay?"

"That should be my line," Kazuki laughed but it seemed more angry than anything else. He let out another sigh before looking up to her. He bit his lower lip before shaking his head, turning on his heel and looking around the street. "Where should we go now?"

"Th-there's a b-b-basketball c-c-court just d-down the r-road," Saka suggested, "b-but i-it's cracked and n-n-no one ever g-g-goes there."

"That's sounds call, and a little creepy," Kazuki added the last bit with a shake of his head. "Lead the way then."

Saka was right. The basketball court was completely deserted. The courto was barely able to pass as a court anymore anyway, the ground was cracked and in some placed the concrete was sitting up at different levels. Weeds were poking through the cracks and yellowing, the rings were rusted and looked like they would fall to dust if a ball hit them. But the court was surrounded either side with a building, leaving the court covered in a nice shade that was welcomed in this heat.

Saka and Kazuki sat agains the wall, sharing the tub of yoghurt and sitting in silence. Saka didn't want to try and talk to Kazuki because he still looked rather glum and she didn't want to make the situation worse. She never knew what to say to people in those situations anywy. Kazuki didn't say anything, but occasionally he'd flick his gaze towards Saka and then force himself to look out to the court. It was harder than he predicted.

"Are you r-r-really going to t-tell Katsumi n-n-not to take A-Asami?" The way she asked made him feel irritated, almost as though she was going to ask him not to. Kazuki didn't respond, just stared out onto the court and clenched his jaw. Of course he was still going to talk to Katsumi about whatever the fuck her name was, Kazuki wanted to say to Saka, she was clearly making the latter distressed about something. He just remained silent. "H-h-how do you know the c-c-captain of K-Kaijo?"

"We used to play together." His sentence was short and his words even shorter. Kazuki's eyes remained hard on the ground and Saka began to feel her chest turning in on itself. This was her fault, he was so happy before she should have just told him not to get the yoghurt. She should have just excused herself when Asami came to the table, if only she didn't have to fucking stutter all the time!

"Hey, Ki-Chan, are you okay? Why are you crying?"

"Huh?" Saka looked up to him, one hand flying to her cheek. Sure enough they were wet. Before she had a chance to do anything, or figure out an excuse, Kazuki put his arm around her, pulling her close. Her cheeks flushed red at his actions, but Kazuki either ignored or didn't notice.

"Don't pay any attention to those idiots," Kazuki murmured in her ear as he pulled the bottom of his singlet up. His hot breath scorched down her neck, causing her to go even redder, especially when he started wiping at her tears with the cloth in his hand.

"I-i-it's not th-them. Y-you were s-so happy b-before and now you're a-angry." Saka risked looking up to him when his hand froze, his skin gently touching her cheek. He was staring at her with his mouth hanging open slightly. The shadow in his eye was gone though and they seemed to be shining like they always did. He let out a soft chuckle before pressing his lips against her forehead.

"You're too adorabla Ki-Chan," he mumbled against her skin, another chuckle echoing from his chest. Saka felt herself go redder and the blush spread from her face and neck to down onto her chest. He pulled away and let out a laugh. "You light up like a christmas tree!"

"Shut up!" Saka shouted. She shoved his shoulder, perhaps a little too hard because he fell down, dragging her with him. Acting quickly she grabbed his arms, pinning his hands above his head as she swung her leg over him, sitting on his stomach.

"Ah, what are you doing there?"

"You shouldn't tell Shira your weaknesses Kazuki-Kun!"

"Wait, no Ki-Chan I'm sorry please don - ah!" Kizuki twisted as she raked her fingers down his side, giggles errupting almost instantly. Saka didn't relent, tickling him as much as possible. He thrashed underneath her, yanking his arms away. Saka laughed at him, she couldn't help it, so when he roughly grabbed her arms and threw her to the side, she was caught off guard.

"Ow, that hurt," Saka hissed, crouching and looking at her grazed palms. She was expecting Kazuki to immediately apologise and tease her by asking if she wanted him to kiss them better. Instead she was greeted with silence. She looked up from her palms to Kazuki, who had sat up and pulled one leg to his chest, resting his chin on his knee.

"Ah, sorry about that," Kazuki mumbled, scratching his neck. Saka frowned, swearing that she could see his cheeks flushed red. Was that from her tickling him? "You just, er, had to, um, get, ah, off me."

Saka ripped her eyes from him, feeling her face flaring up a red so hot she thought she was going to spontaneously combust. The feeling spread quickly down from her face to her neck and chest, peeking out from the sleeves of her shirt only slightly. They sat in silence once again, though there was a tension in the air. Saka flicked her eyes to Kazuki then back to her palms, focusing on the little grits that had become stuck inbetween her flesh and the small red marks of blood that were beginning to pool. There was nothing she could do, her legs were locked and she couldn't summon up the will to move them. Why couldn't Kazuki have just left it off with a sorry?

"Hey Katsuo, is that you?" Saka jumped, hearing someone call out to Kazuki. He looked up and a broad grin grew on his face. He waved largely with one arm, motioning for them to come over. Saka snuck a look over her shoulder and the breath almost caught in her throat. She knew exactly who was walking over to them, sweaty and obviously just returning from an intense training session. Kasamatsu Yukio, captain of Kaijo's basketball team.

"Hey, Yukio, long time," Kazuki laughed. He stood, still resting against the wall and he extended his hand. Saka felt her heart pace begin to quicken as Kasamatsu gave Kazuki a high five, grinning like a child on christmas. Lingeirng behind him was the Copycat Kise Ryouta, his eyes shining golden. He quickly latched onto Kazuki, tugging on his arm.

"Kazukicchii, Sempai was so mean in practice! Look!" Kise promptly pulled back, pulling up his shirt. There were some bruises scattering along his back and side that looked to be the same size as Kasamatsu's shoes. Saka let out a squeak, flashing another shade darker when all three looked to her.

"Idiot, put your shirt down!" Kasamatsu snapped, yanking the cloth down whilst Kise just smiled happily. He walted over to Saka, leaning down and extended his hand.

"I'm Kise Ryouta!" Saka supposed he was used to better greetings than someone staring at his hand in horror, because when she didn't respon he looked confused and slightly insulted. Saka looked to Kazuki quickly, who stepped forward and pulled Kise back.

"Kise-Kun, you're way too rambunctious, calm down," Kazuki scolded as he reached down, gently grabbing Saka's elbow and helping her to her feet. She almost stumbled, god knows how she managed that, but Kazuki made sure she didn't fall. "This is Saka Kiko, she's going to be coming to Iwozuka next year to play for the girls."

"Nice to meet you Saka-San!" Kise cheered quite happily, earning him a kick to the side.

"Idiot, Katsuo just told you to stop...being so... rambunctious," Kasamatsu mumbled after meeting Saka's eye. He looked away from her quickly, looking quite awkward all of a sudden. Saka looked to her feet, feeling Kazuki putting his arm around her back and giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"Well, it was good seeing you guys, but we should..."

"Wah, Kazukicchii, you're leaving already?" If anyone could mimic puppy eyes, it would be the Copycat. Kazuki stumbled ove rhis words, attempting to give an excuse when Kise turned to Saka. His lower lip wobbled and he reached forward, grabbing her hands and pleading with her. Saka's joints locked up again at the touch. Even Kazuki felt the motion, looking down to Saka with a confused expression. He must have realised that she was incredibly uncomfortable because he reached forward, shoving Kise backwards with a bit more force than was necessary. "Wah, so mean!"

"Yukio, I actually need to speak to you about something, is it all right if come to yours later tonight?" Kazuki completely ignored Kise's complaint, looking to Kasamatsu. Kaijo's captain thought for a moment before nodding.

"No problem, but you sound serious."

"It is. Come on Saka, I should get you home before one of us kills Kise." Saka felt Kazuki tug her, but her eyes flickered to Kasamatsu for a moment. She had no idea if she was going to meet him again and she didn't want to pass up her chance to speak with him. However, her feet made the decision for her as she followed after Kazuki, looking back to the court before they walked out of sight.


	15. Homeward Bound

"Seriously, he's the size of a tree how can we not find him?" Shira muttered as she wandered around the halls of the hotel. Their trip ended in two days and Meyer had managed to avoid Kagami that whole time. Shira scowled as she turned the corner, spotting Riko. She was a in a deep conversation with Hyuuga and Shira decided not to interfere. The Coach for Seirin was probably going to hit her after what happened at the beach.

Shira almost giggled as she thought back to that incident. She had no intention of actually going anywhere with Hyuuga, she just wanted to see how pissed Riko would get if she insinuated it. To say Riko was unhappy would be a lie. She was fucking furious and, if Shira had to put it honestly, a little jealous.

On to the problem with Meyer and Kagami, it wasn't like they hadn't run into Seirin during their stay. No, they had run into Kagami a number of times, only Meyer mysteriously disappeared whenever the red haired player appeared. She was getting damn good at disappearing as well.

"Ano, Shira-San, are you looking for Ishimura-San?" Shira shrieked, spinning around and seeing that Kuroko had appeared right beside her. Speaking of disappearing and reappearing. She smacked her forehead, scolding herself for getting so frightened so easily, before flashing Kuroko a smile.

"Kagami actually. You know where he is?"

"I have sent him on personal training. Why do you want him?" Shira's shoulders tensed as she recognised the fury in the voice. She turned around, spotting Riko standing behind her with her arms crossed. She was clearly irked that Shira was there, so the latter looked over her shoulder and gave Hyuuga a wink. Seirin's captain blushed slightly and readjusted his glasses.

"I just want to talk to him is all."

"I would appreciate it if you stopped attempting to interfere with my training regime."

"Sure it's your training regime you want me to stop interfering with?" Shira challenged, tilting her head on the side. Riko's eyed narrowed dangerously as her cheeks flushed. Yeah, thought as much Shira wanted to sneer but the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She looked over her shoulder, seeing Jo walking into the hallway.

"You found him yet?" Jo asked, stopping at the end of the hallway. She looked from Shira to Riko then back to Shira questioningly. Shira shook her head, pointing to Riko with her thumb, not looking back to Seirin's coach.

"He's on his own training regime. Guess we'll just have to try again later," Shira muttered, putting her hands behind her head. She walked towards Jo, stepping past her centre and around the corner of the hallway. Jo watched her before turning back to Riko and Hyuuga, the latter looking positively abashed.

"Don't take anything Shira says to heart. If it's about a boy then she's more than likely joking," Jo commented. She was about to turn but changed her mind, looking back to Riko and Hyuuga. She didn't know if she should be telling them the truth as it would ruin Shira's fun, but Riko looked like she was about to blow a casket and Hyuuga was looking an awful lot like Saka. "She has no interest in you either, Hyuuga. She finds your situation amusing."

Hyuuga choked on spit and Riko looked even more unimpressed. Jo nodded, satisfied Hyuuga was understanding now and she turned to leave. She was irritated that Meyer might be able to skip out on the most amusing dare they had given her, but it couldn't be helped if Riko was sending Kagami on a personal training regime. They couldn't interfere with their training, it wasn't fair, as funny as it would be seeing Kagami's reaction.

Jo let out a huff of air through her nose, looking up to the roof as she walked towards the kitchen. Meyer and Takami, and probbably Jean, would be cooking dinner by now and her stomach made a grand entrance at the thought of food. Jo hadn't realised how hungry she had gotten over the course of the day. Most of the girls had spent the day looking for Kagami, but none of them had seen Ishimura during their search.

A smirk stretched over Jo's lips as she thought back to the truth or dare game they had played with Shutoku. They hadn't really had time to talk to the boys since, they were training most of the day, then played a game against Seirin (Kagami was absent from all the games for some reason) and then they were too tired to do anything else. It was a shame really, the boys were fun to play with and the look on Midorima's face half the time was more than amusing.

Jo was so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't realise a door to her left had opened. Katsumi walked out, the pair colliding into one another. Jo just managed to catch Katsumi by her wrist before she slammed into the ground. Katsumi was already scowling but as Jo helped her to her feet the scowl all but disappeared.

"I'm not that short you know," Katsumi muttered, dusting the front of her shirt down. Jo let out a laugh, nodding slightly as she leant against the doorway.

"Still, you disappear from my sight," Jo teased, measuring the distance between the top of Katsumi's head to her eye level. Katsumi attempted to scowl but it was flushed out by a smile, resulting in both girls to break out into laughter. Jo clapped a hand on Katsumi's shoulder, shaking her slightly. "Man, when was the last time we met up that didn't inclide a court?"

"Second year of middle school," Katsumi chuckled, "Sachiko threw that party and you guys crashed it."

"Oh man, I forgot about that. She was so mad at us," Jo laughed, running a hand through her hair. Sachiko Kishi used to be captain of Shutoku's female basketball team when they were still in middle school. News had spread that she was throwing a party and Shira had convinced them all to go, despite the fact they all doubted they would get in.

"I remember Takami swearing she was never going to touch another bottle of alcohol in her life."

"Shira was worse that night. Man, that feels like a lifetime ago. We were such stupid kids."

"Ah, it was fun though. Felt like real rebels, sneaking out in the middle of the night and crashing a high schoolers party," Katsumi shook her head. The Iwozuka team weren't the only ones to turn up uninvited. Katsumi had appeared sometime during the night and even Hotaru had made an appearance, quickly leaving after finding out the girls were present.

"Didn't feel much like a rebel the next day."

"I don't think any of us felt like anything the next day. It was a good night though," Katsumi grinned. Jo shook her head. It was a good night, but the repurcussions weren't that great, especially for poor Takami. The girl couldn't hold a single drop of liquor if her life depended on it. "Speaking of parties, there's one coming up. Feel like crashing another Shutoku party?"

"It's not really crashing if we're invited Katsumi," Jo laughed. Katsumi nodded in agreement, sticking her hands into her pockets. She let out a sigh, looking up at the roof then shifted her eyes to Jo.

"Why is Meyer acting strange?"

"You really think I have the answer?"

"I was hoping you did. You are two are near inseperable, aren't you?"

"We were Katsumi, but since Jean, Meyer's distant."

"Can't be helped I guess. Well, I'll text you through the details for the party closer to the date. I think it should be an eventful night, considering the other guests that were invited," Katsumi grinned. Jo blinked twice as Katsumi walked past her, making her way to the bath room.

"Who else is going?"

"Come and you'll find out!"

...

"I can't believe you managed to avoid Kagami that whole trip," Shira muttered unhappily. It was the day they were leaving, having had a mostly good two weeks away from their homes. Ishimura had a screaming match with Hotaru that almost ended in blood shed, if it hadn't been for Takao coming between the two girls. Jo winced, feeling sorry for the poor boy, Hotaru had taken a swing at Ishimura before Takao tried to stop them, which resulted in his cheek being grazed by Ishimura's return swing. Hotaru had fled whilst Ishimura had apologised profusely to Takao, kissing his cheek repeatedly in a poor attempt at trying to make him feel better. Still, he looked pretty pleased with himself despite the shiner on his cheek.

"What are you talking about?" Meyer questionned, looking quite confused at Shira's complaint. Everyone spun around to face her, wondering if she was purposefully playing dumb.

"You know, the dare. You had to kiss him," Jo reminded her. Meyer looked around to them all, still incredibly confused and slightly worried. Then she had a moment of clarity, recollection of the night of truth or dare returning to her, and broke out in a deep chuckle.

"Oh yeah. I already did."

"Bull!" Shira burst loudly. Meyer nodded, shrugging her shoulders at the same time.

"Takami went to get your guys for dinner and he came in."

"You're lying," Jo snapped but Takami was frowning. She could remember passing kagami as he was heading in the direction of the kitchen, but she didn't watch to see if he had gone in. Meyer was looking amongst her team mates, one eyebrow raised.

"If you don't believe me, Seirin's coming out now." Jo and Shira spun around, seeing that Seirin indeed was walking out of the hotel. Kagami was easy to spot, not only because of his height but because his hair made him stand out amongst the browns and blacks of his team mates.

"Hey Kagami-Kun!" Shira shouted, waving her arms around like a mad man. All of Seirin glanced over to the teen, Riko visibly scowling. Perhaps this was why she was so annoyed about Iwozuka's presence at the hotel. "Did Meyer really kiss you?"

"And here I thought only Saka could light up like a Christmas tree," Takami commented upon Kagami's blush. Even his ears turned bright red as he spluttered and mumbled an answer.

"Don't hurt yourself Kagami!" Ishimura laughed, provoking at Riko to snap at Seirin to get moving. Ishimura and Shira laughed at her reaction, not helping the situation in the least. The pair shut up quickly when Jo smacked them on the back of their heads.

"You know Kaijo and Touou are having their match today," takami commented, effectively shifting the conversation away from Seirin. Meyer shook her head, already knowing what Takami was suggesting. The last thing she wanted to do was go and watch two remarkable aces destroy themselves in an attempt to outdo one another.

"Touou will win. We have to go home anyway."

"You seem pretty certain," Shira commented. Meyer laughed, nodding as she let out a slight whistle. She had hoped to end the conversation about the match with her comment, but like they would let her off so easily.

"It will be a close game but Touou will win. Kise Ryouta still admires Aomine too much."

"How do you know that?" Takami questionned. She was slightly annoyed that Meyer had figured something out that she couldn't. In fact she never even assumed that Kise looked up to Aomine. Meyer looked to her incredulously before sighing.

"Am I the only one who listens to what Katsuo tells me?"

"I thought we kept him around because he's pretty." This time it was Ishimura who smacked Shira on the upside of her head. Shira just grinned in reply. Meyer shook her head as Ishimura's mother pulled up in a car beside them. Jean, who they hadn't bothered to even try and waken properly and was now currently residing on Jo's back, seemed to waken at the noise. Half a beat passed and he returned to snoring softly, his face nuzzled into the crook of Jo's neck and shoulder. An earthquake wouldn't waken the kid from his sleep.

Jo laughed at him as Shira opened the back door. Ishimura helped Meyer move the boy from Jo and maneuver him into a comfortable enough position in the back seat. Jo's gaze lingered on the young teen before Meyer stole into her gaze, slipping into the back seat and shutting the door behind her. Ishimura gave them a short nod before climbing into the car, shutting the door and leaning over to talk to Meyer.

"I remembered putting him in the seat when we were younger," Shira smiled as Takami slammed the boot shut. Jo looked to Shira, wondering when they had begun reading each other's minds. Takami walked round the front of the car, knocking twice on Ishimura's door before stepping back onto the curb. The car honked once before pulling away, slowly driving off.

"I remember him staying long after practice finished, playing ball with us," Takami sighed as they watched the car disappear into the distance. Ishimura's mum had agreed to take most of their luggage back, so they had been left with just their handbags, or in Jo's case her back pack. They had been left on the curb, waiting for their next ride to pick them up.

"I can still see Meyer and IShimura being told about the accident," Jo mumbled as she sat down. Shira's mum had a habit of being late to pick them up from somewhere, so they could be waiting a while.

Takami grimaced, the memory hitting her like a brick wall. It was four weeks into the school year, their last year in middle school and the first year they almost lost the chamionship. Jean, at the time, would walk home from middle school, swinging by Sataoshi and Hiruko's primary school to walk them home. When Ishimura and Meyer had told they both had to get to the hospital as there had been a car crash, they were unrecognisable. Ishimura froze, her body locking up and her face pale, her mind exploring every possibility of what could have happened to her brothers. Meyer was shouting and swearing in a mix of French and English and then, they were gone. They had run so fast that day, faster than Jo had seen either of them run before. They sprinted from the school gym to the hospital, not even slowing as their limbs ached and their bodies cried for a reprieve.

They saw Ishimura before they saw Meyer. Ishimura's brothers were only recipients of debris, but all they knew about Jean was that he was in ICU. Satoshi was too afraid to get into a car for a few months, Hiroku shut his family and friends out. It would be a while before either of them were willing to talk about what happened. A week after the accident, the rest of the girls finally found out what had happened. Sataoshi and Hiruko were walking a metre or so in front of Jean, who was hanging back and talking on the phone to a friend. A car veered off the road, heading straight for the younger pair. Jean ran up and shoved them out of the way, but in doing so was pinned between the wall and the car by his leg.

It wasn't the impact that caused him to lose it. Jean drew an infection that was spreading too quickly for doctors to fix, so they had to amputate on scene. When they cut off his leg, they cut off his dream as well. Jo grimaced. All the kid ever talked about was playing professionally, and what was worse was he had the greatness to do so as well. He was devoted to the sport, could rattle off every score for the NBL, even the NBA and the WNBA. No one ever doubted that he would have made it, he was as good as Meyer and would have surpassed her by now if the accident didn't happen. Jo had once asked him if, given the chance, he would change his mind. Jean didn't even miss a beat in considering it, he would always jump.

"He's always been a good kid, sucks he was given the short end of the stick," Shira sighed. Jo nodded as she was joined by the pair on the ground. Shira managed to sit comfortably, positioning herself on the ground, but Takami couldn't.

"If it could happen over, I would take his place," Takami murmurred almost to herself. The otehr two nodded in agreement.

"I think we all would," Jo confirmed. Shira hummed in agreement. Takami sighed, scratching the back of her head.

"Remind me next time to get dad to pick us up. Shira, your mum is hopeless."

"She'll bring us food at least."

"Speak of your mum, how are you going to get Saka to go on a date?" Jo teased. Shira groaned, throwing herself back onto the ground as her own dare resurfaced. She glared up at the sky, probably cursing her past life for always getting her into trouble. Jo could hear her muttering something about Takami and she laughed.

"How did you get out of punishment?" Shira demanded as she looked to Jo.

"She gave me a dead leg," Jo reminded her. Shira pointed to the fading bruise that marred half her cheek.

"She ditched that brick disguised as a phone at my eye!" Shira shouted back, leaning in close to Jo as if to add emphasis. Jo shoved her away, laughing and then cutting short as she heard a car roaring into the car park. Sure enough, it was Shira's mum, twenty minutes late. Jo could see the food piled up in the front seat though, so that was a bonus.

"Hey _Oba_!" Jo cheered into the car as Shira opened the back door. The latter barrelled in, almost knocking her own head off on the car as she did so. Shira Arisu was sitting in the drivers seat, beaming over her shoulder to the girls. Jo climbed into the car after Shira, Takami slipping in after her.  
The car smelt of _gyuden_ and _chahan_, making Jo's stomach growl slightly. As soon as they had finished putting their seatbelts on Arisu was leaning across to the passenger seat, passing back large, foam lunchboxes back to the girls.

"Here you go ladies, dig in!" She cheered happily before starting the car. If one were to see Shira and Arisu together, there was little to hint they were kin. Whilst Shira is tall and lean, except in the chest area, Arisu is quite short, barely making it past five one. The girls often teased Shira that she had been adopted and she wasn't really Arisu's daughter, but there was no deny that Shira had been her fathers daughter. He was as tall as Jo and broad, a fisherman that would bring food straight to Arisu's restaurant. Shira had her mothers laugh, smile and sense of self assurance.

Jo hesitated before digging in to her food, finding herself wondering if Shira would have been any different. It seemed that the girls had no short of tragedy in their lives, and when they were ten Shira's father passed away in a boating accident. It had nothing to do with fishing, in fact that details were a little hazy for Jo and she was certain that she didn't even know the full story to begin with. She never wanted to ask Shira about it either.

"_Oba_, you're aware you're running late though right? Just wanted to let you know," Takami teased after swallowing a mouthful of her food. Arisu just rolled her eyes at the teen, wondering when in the seven hells did the girls grow up?


	16. Back To School

The constant drill of the alarm jerked Shira into consciousness, causing her to flip out of the bed. She managed to break her fall with her face and she lay on the ground for a few moments, considering throwing the phone out the window and crawling back into bed. It was the first day back at school and she could not think of anything worse. Opening one eye she pushed herself up, grabbing her phone with one hand. She puched the red button to shut the stupid thing up and then collapsed back on the floor. It was acceptable to be fashionably late to the first day of the new term, right?

"Tamiko, you better be out of bed!" Arisu called as her fist connected with the wood of the door. Shira groaned, rolling onto her stomach and crawling towards the door. Her body decided that it wasn't quite ready to get up yet and she just laid down in the middle of the floor, her chin nuzzled into the shag rug and her eyes glued to the door. She should be getting up, but that required effort and that was something Shira seemed to be lacking that morning.

"I'm out of bed!" Shira called back, seeing the shadows of her mothers feet under her door. She heard Arisu make an unimpressed noise that was half way between a snort and a sigh.

"Are you off the floor?"

"... No."

"Hurry up then, or you have to walk to school!" Shira made a noise that was a long, drawn out groan that rumbled up from her stomach to her throat. Apparently it was very amusing because Arisu started laughing hysterically on the other side of the wood.

"Fine, give me five more minutes though!"

...

Takami hummed happily as she swayed from side to side, watching as her noodles gently heated up in the microwave. She could hear her father padding around upstairs, getting ready for his own day ahead. Her mother had already left for the middle school, she was a teacher and her excitement had made her leave early. The microwave dinged and Takami hurriedly pulled the foam cup out, placing it gently on the table before grabbing chop sticks.

Her father was in his study already, and pretty soon he would be on his computer. Takami hurriedly finished her noodles, fixing the tie around her neck as she did so. She wasn't fond of the uniform for Iwozuka but it wasn't the worst the she had seen. The skirt was grey and the shirt white and button up, the vest a dark velvety green with the schools emblem blazened on it in gold.

As soon as she finished her noodles she threw the cup away and turned the coffee maker on. Her mother had forgotten to and her dad wouldn't be able to find the button. He was fine with computers, but any other piece of technology he was sooner to destroy than to work. She skipped up the stairs, excitement brimming in her chest. She enjoyed school, much more than any other of the girls, and the idea of going back made her extremely excited.

"Annaisha, are you going now?"

"Not yet, just need to brush my teeth and then I'm off!" Takami called to her father as she skipped past his office. She heard him grunt in recognition and smiled softly to herself. Her father was a man of few words and even fewer conversations. Her bathroom was an ensuite off her room, quite small and only just managing to fit a shower, a toilet and sink, but she loved it nonetheless.

She brushed her teeth, swaying from side to side again and humming to herself. Shira would be late, she always was despite Arisu's proddings and pushes. Ishimura would be there first, despite her lack of commitment to school she was very sufficient in getting her brothers to their own. Luckily their school was close to Iwozuka so they weren't there half an hour earlier than necessary. Jo and Meyer would arrive together, often around the same time as Takami. If Saka were already at Iwozuka, she would be there just after Ishimura.

She spat the toothpaste out and pulled her hair into a bright green hair tie. It wasn't perfect and her fringe hung around her eyes, but it was good enough. She looked at herself in the mirror for a few moments, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything before walking out. She had a feeling that today would be a very good day.

...

"Yuki-Chan, I don't want to go!" Gou wailed as tears stained his cheeks. Ishimura repressed an eye roll as she juggled him onto her other hip, holding onto Satoshi's hand tightly. He was clinging to her, his face prepared to be buried into her thigh at any given time. Hiruko was walking on her left, his arms crossed over his chest as he sulked silently.

"Come on Gou, you love it," Ishimura panted, looking up to the sky and begging the heavens to give her one moments peace from her brother's constant whining. Between the sobbing Gou, the shy Satoshi and the sulking Hiruko, this morning was not going in her favour. Not to mention the string of strange looks she's been getting.

"I don't want to! I don't want to!" Gou sobbed, banging his small fists against Ishimura's shoulder. He started to kick his feet as well when they passed a basketball court and Ishimura considered throwing him in the hoop and leaving him there. She would never do it of course, but the image of her young brother wedged in the hoop with his feet kicking in the open air made her smile.

"Gou, if you kick you're going to walk," Ishimura warned the young boy instead. He stopped kicking but the whining and sobbing was a long way off. Ishimura just grit her teeth and pressed on, her eyes flickering to Hiruko every now and then. He was going to be in middle school next year and she wasn't sure if she was prepared for that. At least then he'll be able to walk to school himself and she won't have to worry about him. Still, he was the least of the trouble makers.

"Yuki-Chan, I don't want to go either," Satoshi sniffed and Ishimura started swearing in her head. One crying brother was enough, she didn't need another one. Why did my parents need to procreate so much in such a small space of time?

...

"You seem happy," Jo commented as Meyer skipped down the stiars. She shrugged, looking back over her shoulder and waving to Jean. He didn't have to start school until tomorrow, so he had been rubbing in her face the whole night before. Meyer didn't mind too much, she wasn't the kind of person to get all up in arms over things like school.

"I had a good nights sleep," Meyer replied, readjusting the strap of her back pack. It was heavier than she remembered, but she made sure to check that Jean hadn't put a brick in there for laughs. No, it was just all her text books and notes from earlier in the year.

"You have a marshmallow for a bed, I'm not surprised," Jo laughed as they began walking down the street. For as long as Meyer could remember, they walked to school together. Whether it was with their parents when they were younger, or with the addition of Saka who lived on their way to their middle school, they had always kept the tradition. Meyer sniffed and looked up to the sky, smelling the rain that was going to be coming later on in the day. She wasn't particularly fond of the rain, unlike Shira and Ishimura who often made themselves sick by dancing in the water droplets.

"Have you heard anything more about the Shutoku party?"

"It's two weeks before the Winter Cup starts. Not surprising, guess no one wants their athletes to be nursing a hangover the week before an important match."

"I'm more interested in the surprise guests. Katsumi's remaining tight lipped?"

"Won't tell me any names," Jo shrugged. She ran a hand along her hair, which had been pulled into a tight pony tail. "So it should be interesting."

"I can just imagine."

...

"If you eat any faster, you're going to choke," Shira warned as she watched Ishimura down a sandwich quicker than she could blink. Ishimura rolled her eyes, looking slyly to her left where Shira was sitting.

"You'd know about choki - ow Meyer!" Ishimura groaned, leaning her head the fence as she rubbed the spot on her leg where Meyer had delivered a quick kick. Jo chuckled, mostly at the face Shira was pulling at Ishimura. She didn't move from her position on the ground though, the back of her head resting on the palms of her hands as she stretched out along the grass. Takami was using her stomach as a pillow, her phone in her hands as her fingers worked out text message after text message. Jo was always interested in knowing who the hell she was texting, but Takami was always so tight lipped about it.

"Don't say stupid things," Meyer muttered, relaxing her shoulders and elbows, allowing them to loosen. Her legs were spread out in front of her, her arms holding her torso up with her hands planted behind her back. She was comfortable, but her joints would ache after a while which irritated her.

"That'll be hard," Shira snickered, pulling her legs out of the way. Ishimura just rolled her eyes, returning her attention on devouring the food in front of her. Shira had already finished the noodles her mum had made her and Takami had finished an apple and two bananas. Jo was just lying there, having forgotten her lunch and not taking anyone elses. She wasn't hungry anyway.

"... going to say no."

"You don't know that."

"I do though."

"Please, just ask." Jo opened one eye and twisted her neck to look behind her. Kazuki was standing off to the side a few metres away, one of his underlassmen standing near him. Jo took a few minutes to recognise who he was. Sadao Ryuji, he had gone to middle school with the girls. Jo closed her eyes again, wondering what he was asking Kazuki to ask. Something stupid no doubt.

"Fine, but I'm telling you it's all ready a no." Jo smiled a little before nudging Meyer with her foot. The latter turned to look at her friend, one eybrow raised as to why her attention had been summoned. Meyer didn't need to wait long, Kazuki was standing near them looking rather sheepish.

"Hey Kazu-Kun," Shira cheered happily. Kazuki gave her a cheerful hello in return before looking to Jo. He looked rather awkward, one arm crossed over his chest and the other tugging on a piece of plaited hair just under his left ear. Shira narrowed her eyes. When did he get that in his hair?

"Hey, Jo, I was wondering."

"Whatever Sadao asked, you're right, it's a no."

"Thought so. Well glad that's cleared up, I'll go let him..."

"What's that in your hair?" Shira asked, pointing to the plait. Kazuki looked to her slightly confused before he realised he was tugging on it nervously. He pulled his hand away, letting it rest on his other arm before he shrugged.

"What's wrong with it? Wait, don't answer, I don't care," Kazuki held up his hand when Shira opened her mouth to reply. He looked down to Meyer, his hand moving back up to the plait. It must be recent, Takami thought, he's been pulling at it incessantly. "I was wondering if I could speak to you Meyer."

"Is it something you can't say in front of the team?" Meyer questioned with a frown. As far as she was concerned Kazuki was a welcomed friend and member (although not official) member of their team and whatever he needed to say should and could be said in front of the team. Kazuki sighed, tugging three more times on the plait, before shaking his head.

"I can't." Of course this gave off a series of 'ooh's from the girls that was immediately silenced by the irritated look Meyer gave them. She nodded, extended her hand to him and he grabbed it, yanking her to her feet. She told the girls, mostly Ishimura and Shira, to behave whilst she was gone and followed after Kazuki. He was nervous, very nervous, and that was something that was quite uncharacteristic for him. Meyer was very interested in whatever was happening.

They walked in silence until they were well away from the grass, hidden in a small alcove in front of a door that never opened. It was the quietest and most secluded place in the school. Kazuki leant against the wall, tugging on his plait, his eyes not quite meeting Meyer's. Whatever he wanted to talk about, it must be serious.

Meyer tilted her head to the side. Shira had been right about one of her comments during the trip away, Kazuki was pretty. He had a strong jaw but everything else about his face just seemed to be delicate. Meyer wondered if he tried, if he'd be able to pull off dressing up like a woman, make up and all. She didn't completely doubt it.

"Did something happen while we were away?" Meyer questioned, toning down the excitement in her voice. She wasn't even going to try and deny that she was always interested in finding out new things about her friends. She frowned a little, thinking that sounded selfish and a bit horrible, but it was a true. Meyer knew well enough there were plenty of things that she didn't know about Kazuki, let alone the girls.

"Yeah, something did and I'm not," Kazuki trailed off into a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. Meyer stepped forward, putting her hand on his shoulder and smiling warmly. She knew him well enough to know that this was nerve wracking for him, whatever had happened. "I need your advice."

"You can't talk to any of you're other friends about it?"

"I tried. They're guys and they, well, they just don't understand." Kazuki was making a point of looking every where but at her, which was strange because he normally held eye contact with everyone no matter the situation. Meyer swallowed, thinking this over. He was nervous talking to her about it, refused to do so in front of the others and he muttered 'they're guys' as to why he couldn't talk about it with them. The information let her know that a, this was a matter of the heart and b, it was someone she and the other girls knew.

"I can't give you advice if you don't tell me what's going on." Kazuki nodded, sinking against the wall. He slid to the ground, hugging his knees to his chest and letting out a small huff. Meyer stepped over to sit beside him. He looked genuinely worried and glanced at her out the corner of his eye.

"There's this girl, and we get along really well. While you were away we hung out a bit and then, er, I've liked her for a while but thought that it would be best if I didn't say anything because it's probably best for her, but after these holidays I don't know any more."

"What makes you think not telling her would be best for her? If she was any kind of human, she would accept your feelings whether or not she returns them. If you were any kind of human, you would accept hers without irritation as well," Meyer replied after a few moments of thought. Kazuki sighed, shaking his head and resting it against the wall behind him. He was staring up at the roof, still pointedly looking away from her, and thinking over what she had said.

"I don't know how she'd react. She isn't exactly open to people in this way."

"Well," Meyer sighed as she stood, cracking her back as she did so, "the only way for you to know is to buck up and tell her."

"Thanks." Kazuki tried to force a smile but Meyer could see through it. He must have been exceptionally worried about the reaction he would be given and Meyer nodded to him. She started walking away before she hesitated, stopping and looking over her shoulder.

"Katsuo, I have known Saka for almost as long as I have known the others. I'm certain that this won't end badly." She turned and walked back to the girls, smirking slightly at the completely shocked look on Kazuki's face. He had managed to be subtle around her, but Takami had already told Meyer about his crush. There was no subtlety when Takami was around.


	17. Studies

Jo stretched out in the booth at Maji burgers, tapping her fingers on the table whilst bting her lip. Her eyes were focused on the paperwork in front of her, causing her to clench her hands into a fist. She didn't want to be studying, she wanted to be playing ball, but she had failed her last test and Meyer was adament that she wasn't allowed to train with the team unless she improved her school work. Jo took solice in knowing she wasn't the only one to fail her first test of the new term.

Ishimura was sitting across from her, her hair pulled back by her bandana and a pair of black glasses slightly skewed on her nose. Her gaze was intense as her eyes shifted from word to word in her text book, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she tried to remember the words and the meanings. The test had been a surprise for her, a revise of what the class had learnt earlier in the year. She didn't do so well.

"Hello Ishimura-San, Jo-San." The pair looked up from their respective notes to see that Kuroko was standing at their table. Ishimura blinked twice, her eyes hazy from being stuck in the world of her text book but Jo moved over a little so Kuroko could sit with them. He only had a shake, but Jo had a feeling that Maji was going to be cleaned of burgers in a minute.

"Hey Kuroko, what's up?" Jo grinned, her eyes flicking to her sheet of notes for a moment. SHe knew she should be studying but she couldn't be impolite. Ishimura delivered a grunt of welcome to Kuroko before returning her attention to her notes. Surprisingly she was one of the best studiers of the group, even better than Takami, however that was only applicable when she brought herself to study. She was stuck so far in the world of the human body at the moment she was going to have trouble being pulled back out.

"Kagami-Kun and I have just finished practice," Kuroko replied, sipping at his drink quietly. Jo nodded, having already guessed that Kagami would be waiting for his burgers. At least with Ishimura preoccupied with studying he would eat them all for himself. She was about to say something to him when she spotted the tower of hamburgers and her breath caught in her throat. She knew Kagami ate a lot, Ishimura had mentioned it, but she hadn't realised that he literally could empty Maji out of it's burgers.

"Ah, is it all right if I sit with you?" Kagami questioned, looking around his pile of hamburgers. Jo nodded as Ishimura shifted closer to the window, not taking her eyes off her text book. She gave Kagami a grunt in welcome at least.

"Ano, Ishimura-San, what are you studying?"

"She's Biology," Jo replied when Ishimura didn't. The latter turned the page, rubbing her forehead as she scrutinized the diagram. She looked confused but there was nothing Jo would be able to help her with, she barely managed to pass Biology back in middle school. "And I'm on Physics."

"Wow, they're pretty heavy subjects," Kagami commented as he started unwrapping a burger. Jo looked up to him, one eyebrow raised before she shook her head. It wasn't the first time someone had been surprised by the subjects they were taking, so they were used to it. For some reason people seemed to think they were just basketball nuts, that was all they did and they didn't care for school. Well, Shira was the exception.

"Yeah, we noticed when we failed our tests," Jo sighed. Her fingers started drumming on the table again, trying to figure out what to do next. Pretty soon her mind was going to turn to mush and she wasn't going to be able to learn anything new from her texts, but she couldn't leave while Ishimura was so deep in her studying.

She grabbed her notes and stuffed them in her bag, giving up for the night. A two hour session of heavy studying was enough to fry her brain and her body, she felt tired for no good reason. She let out a huff, sinking back against the rest of chair before looking to both Kuroko and Kagami.

"Have you considered a tutor?"

"I have a class with Takami and she helps me study, today she just had to help her dad so I'm usually set. Ishimura, on the other hand, would do well to get a tutor."

"Biology," Kuroko mumbled almost to himself before looking back up to Jo, "Midorima-Kun is very good in that subject."

"You hear that Ishimura, you could get Carrot-Chan to tutor you," Jo grinned, kicking Ishimura's leg. The other girl jolted, looking up to Jo having not heard a single word. She blinked twice, looking around in confusion as the haze in her eyes clear up. Her eyes narrowed in on Kagami's empty hand and her fingers shot out, grabbing his wrist tightly. She yanked his hand close to her face, frowning at it.

"Hey, what are you..."

"Distal phalanges, intermediate phalanges, proximal phalanges, metacarpals, carpals," Ishimura listed off, dragging her finger down his middle finger and into his palm. She frowned to herself, turning his hand over as if he were some sort of model for her biology class. "Fuck, I can't get the muscles."

"Can I have my hand back now?" Kagami questioned. Ishimura released his wrist, running her fingers through her hair. Jo could still hear her muttering 'fuck' under her breath as she racked her brain for an answer.

"Yeah I think Ishimura will be happy with a tutor."

"I don't need a tutor Jo, I just need..."

"Kuroko says that Midorima is 'very good' with biology and so far you've failed a test so yeah, you're going to get a tutor," Jo replied, crossing her arms across her chest. She could feel Kuroko watching her intently but she ignored him, her gaze focused on Ishimura. The latter sighed, pulling her up so she was looking at Jo directly as she pulled her glasses off. She held them lazily before relenting into a nod. Although her pride was taking a blow, she knew Jo was right. She wasn't doing bad in biology, but she wasn't doing particularly well either.

Ishimura closed her text book, shoving it into the bag under her table and snatching one of Kagami's hamburgers. He didn't get a chance to scold her before she unwrapped it and attacked the burger, finishing the whole thing before Kagami had a chance to finish chewing his mouthful. He was staring at her in complete surprise, btu Ishimura just let out a groan and leant her head back onto the seat.

"How's training going?" she questionned as she covered her eyes with her forearm. She looked like she was completely disinterested but Kuroko didn't seem fazed. He scratched the back of his head and looked to Kagami.

"We are preparing for the Winter Cup."

"Really? I had no idea." Jo winced at how thickly laced with sarcasm Ishimura's voice was. Kagami almost choked on his hamburger, glaring at the girl sitting next to him, but again Kuroko didn't seem to be too bother by her attitude. Jo realised that he probably wasn't surprised by Ishimura's behaviour, whish was surprising for her. Had they caught up before this?

"We are playing a match against Shutoku in three weeks," Kuroko continued. Ishimura raised the arm off her eyes and looked to Kuroko lazily. Her interest began at 'playing' and her attention was grabbed at 'Shutoku'. She threw herself forward, her fore arms smacking against the table top with such a loud bang it made Kagami jump, but Ishimura looked very interested in what Kuroko was saying.

"An official match? I didn't know they started already."

"Well to be fair Ishimura half the time you don't know when our matches are official or not," Jo laughed. Ishimura nodded her head as though to say 'fair point' before grinning to Kuroko. She grabbed his wrists in her hands excitedly. She'd caught up with him a few times since school had started again, but never with the other girls. Takami had been so focused on her school work, Shira was too busy helping her mum and Meyer, well, Jean was being even more difficult with rehabilitation so she was going along to 'supervise'. Saka had all but disappeared off the face of the Earth, Kazuki along with her.

"You going to showcase that new move Tets?" Kagami's mouth fell open when he heard Ishimura's nickname. Jo looked slightly stunned, fully aware that Ishimura very rarely used someone's first name that was outside her family. She didn't even call Shira her first name. Kuroko didn't seem surprised at the name and Jo narrowed her eyes slightly. If Kagami hadn't looked so surprised as well, she would have assumed Ishimura was hanging out with the Seirin team, something Meyer had told them they weren't allowed to do anymore.

"If it is necessary."

"Well don't get too excited," Ishimura teased, grinning happily and completely unaware of Jo's accusatory glare. She knew that Jo would know she hung out with Kuroko by now, of course it was never planned, not entirely. Their midnight meet ups continued and, although Meyer was determined not to interfere with Seirin's training regime any more (especially after the dirty looks Riko was giving them when they ran into her accidentally shortly after returning to school), Ishimura was helping him train to the best of her abilities. She gauged that was fair.

"I am excited, Ishimura-San."

"Well, I got something else you need to be excited about. The Shutoku party."

"Party? By Shutoku's team?" Kagami questioned. Ishimura looked to him again, her eyes growing wide when she saw he'd already managed to clean off half of his plate of hamburgers. He had to have eaten fifteen burgers in the space of ten or so minutes. Ishimura reminded herself to never offer to buy him lunch.

"The female team, the Captain Katsumi Ai, is throwing the party. Both Shutoku teams are going to be there, as well as the Iwozuka teams and a collection of others," Jo answered, running a hand through her hair. She wasn't sure if Katsumi would be all right with Ishimura asking if Kagami and Kuroko would like to come but she settled on the fact that she wasn't going to be the one getting in trouble.

"What's so good about the party that Kuroko would get excited?"

"We crashed the Shutoku party two years ago. Trust me, you want to come," Ishimura started cackling as she thought back to the party. Jo attempted to scold her but her lips were cracking into a smile as well. It was probably one of the funniest nights of their middle school career, mostly because of Takami's antics. They had been sworn to secrecy never to speak of it again, but that didn't stop them from thinking about it.

"Besides," Jo added, managing to control her grin and look serious, "won't it be good to meet with Shutoku on friendly terms before your match?"

"I do not think Coach will be too happy with us going to a party two weeks before a match," Kuroko answered without thinking about it. Kagami looked deflated as he nodded. Jo let out a relieved sigh. Their refusal was good, that meant Katsumi wouldn't get irritated at them for inviting Seirin along without her consent. Ishimura looked slightly defeated, letting her head fall into the palm of her hand.

"Oh yeah, she's a bit of a hard ass isn't she?"

"Is Meyer-San not?"

"Well we're currently banned from the gym because of our test scores, but she's never put us in the Boston crab hold either," Ishimura replied, laughing slightly. Kuroko's eyes narrowed as his eyebrows pulled together, once again regretting telling Ishimura about it. She had lost her ability to walk in a straight line she had been laughing so hard, unable to even form a coherent sentence. Ishimura was distracted from Kuroko's irritated expression when she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She looked at the screen for half a moment before sighing, already aware of what her mother had sent without needing to open the message. "Well kids, it's been fun, but I have to get going. Baby sitting duty. I'll Hiroku you said hi Tets."

Ishimura grabbed her bag and before Kagami could get out of the seat to let her out she moved, sitting on his lap and swinging her legs around. She hopped off, not even considering out incredibly awkward that had just been for Kagami, before ruffling Kuroko's hair. He knocked it out of the way, scowling.

"Ishimura-San, I've asked you not do that."

"And they've started calling Grumpy-San, huh." Jo watched as Ishimura walked out of Maji, laughing to herself and leaving her behind with an irritated to Kuroko and a blushing Kagami. Jo sighed, tilting her head as she looked to Kagami. He was bashful, which was surprising because he wasn't too bad looking. His eyebrows confused Jo though. Seriously, what was going on with them?

"Say Kagami, you notice you blush a lot?"

"What? No I don't!"

"Huh," Jo huffed, her head tilting to the other side. She didn't need to be Takami to figure out why Kagami seemed to be so shy. He blushed profusely when Shira called out about the kiss, looked like his face was about to catch on fire when Ishimura sat on his lap and spluttered when she'd dragged his finger down his fingers and along his palm. He was so cutely innocent.

...

"Do you often play by yourself?" Aomine looked up when he heard someone call to him. He jumped slightly, seeing a girl stretch her legs out in front of her from the seat not three metres away from him. He hadn't been aware she was sitting there, but she had his Touou jacket around her shoulders rather comfortably, her eyes lingering on him before she looked to the hoop. "Kind of pathetic really."

She looked familiar to him, but he couldn't place her. He knew for certain that he'd never met someone with hair that was blue at the roots and faded into green near the ends, yet he couldn't shake this familiarity she had. She didn't go to Touou, her vest was a velvetty green and her skirt was grey. She wasn't wearing any shoes that Aomine could see, in fact her feet looked a little dirty like she had come to the court bare foot.

"Do I know you?"

"Ah, so you don't remember me." She didn't seem too unfazed by this information. She jumped off the chair, holding his jacket closer around her shoulders as she skipped towards him. When she reached him she ripped his jacket from her shoulder, gently placing it around his and then leaning back on her hip. She was about as tall as he was, probably just a few centimetres shorter. "We played a game a few months ago. My friend called you an idiot."

"I get called that a lot."

"Not surprising, you seem like a self righteous dick," she shrugged. Aomine clenched the ball tight in his hands. Who the hell was this chick and why the hell did she think she could get away with talking to him like that?

"Tch," he clicked his tongue, turning to make another shot in the basket. He thought she would go away, but as he rose his arms to line up the shot she was standing in front of him, her head tilted to the side and her lips parted slightly. Her pupils seemed to have grown in size, her gaze boring into his own. He felt a little uncomfortable at her closeness.

"Let's play one-on-one. I'll go easy on you."

"That's not necessary. The only one who can beat me, is me." Her lips curled into a smile as she let out a deep, heart filled laugh. She doubled over, the sound escaping her in breathy laughs and Aomine frowned. He was worried that she may have been on something, but then she managed to compose herself after letting out a snort and she covered her mouth slightly.

"You know if you take that out of context it would mean you really do play with yourself often." The sound of her chortling filled Aomine's ears and turned his ears the slightest shade of pink. He scowled at her, watching as she tried to contain her laughter. "Sorry, sorry, you just left yourself wide open for that one. I'm Shira Tamiko."


	18. Shutoku Party : Shira

"If you bring that torture device any closer to me I will stick a lamp up your ass!" Jo was about to knock on Shira's front door when she heard Ishimura screaming from inside. Jo let out a sigh, looking over her shoulder to Meyer, who looked more interested in what was going on than worried. She leant around her taller friend, turning the door knob and shoving Jo inside. They heart a crash from the lounge room and they both ran in, Meyer barely managing to hold back a laugh.

Ishimura was standing on top of Shira's couch, brandishing a silver candle stick towards her friend. Shira was ducking and weaving out of the way of Ishimura's wayward attempts at smacking her with it, progressively growing closer, holding the straightener out like a deadly weapon. It wasn't a surprise that Ishimura was reacting this way. The last time she had agreed to let Shira straighten her hair the iron had accidentally been pressed against the tip of her ear, leaving quite a nasty burn.

"Come now Ishimura, be a good girl and let me straighten your hair."

"My hairs already straight you bastard, get away!" Ishimura snapped, throwing the candlestick at Shira, who dove out of the way. Ishimura leapt from the couch, barely missing the coffee table and disappeared into one of the adjoining rooms. Shira started muttering under her breath as Meyer let out a giggle, clutching her stomach and sinking to her knees. Jo was poorly attempting to hide her own enjoyment of the situation they were in by covering her mouth.

"You know you're never going to get her to let you straighten her hair," Takami observed from where she was sitting in the arm chair. Jo jumped whilst Meyer hiccupped, they hadn't noticed her when they walked into the room. Her hair had already been treated by Shira, large ringlets falling around her shoulders and being pinned securely into place.

"If Jo holds her down I might have a chance."

"If Jo holds her down Jo might get bitten," Jo returned, shaking her head. She refused to help Shira antagonise Ishimura, they did it well enough by themselves without needing help from anyone outside of their little group. Meyer just stifled another laugh as she flopped down onto the couch, staring up at the roof, excitement brewing in her belly.

"You know this is the first high school party we're going to? Well, that we were invited to?" Meyer grinned. Shira let out a laugh, turning the straightener off and gently patting her hair. She had dyed it again since her encounted with Aomine, bringing the colours back to bright for the party that night. She was excited, more than she had been for the first Shutoku party, and she didn't know why.

"Hey, you reckon Takao will be there?" she questionned, looking over her shoulder. Jo managed to stop the laugh with a couch, knowing exactly where Shira was going to be leading with this. The obvious didn't escape Takami either, the latter grinning slyly as her gaze slid to the door that Ishimura had disappeared through.

"I would assume so, it's both Shutoku teams."

"Yeah, you really think he would pass up a party?" Meyer laughed, sitting up. Her voice was louder than any of them expected, but they could see her eyes on the same door Takami was looking at. So Meyer had noticed it too then. Shira could practically hear Ishimura growling in the bathroom upon hearing their conversation and she wondered if Ishimura could guess none of them were talking about Takao.

"I hope it's as good as Sachiko's," Shira grinned, happily thinking back to that party. It was their first all together, and although Takami would much rather forget about it, it was definitely one of those nights that would stay with them for the rest of their lives. Shira turned to her friends, already knowing what they were thinking. Tonight would be a night they would never forget.

...

Shira couldn't remember much. She could remember challenging Ishimura to shots and then the rest of her night fell into a dark blur with the occasional picture to let her known that it would have been a good night. If only she could remember more of it. She couldn't even remember falling asleep, or perhaps she passed out? All she knew was that she managed to find a mattress, it was soft but at the same time kind of hard, nice and warm and she felt herself rise up - mattresses don't breath.

Shira forced her eyes to open, even though all she wanted to do was sleep more. She was quite comfortable, more than comfortable if that were possible. The light stung her eyes and she screwed them shut, trying to stop the throb through her head. How much did she end up drinking last night? An image of beer pong came to her mind but she couldn't make out the cups on either end of the table, let alone whoever her opponent was.

She forced her eyes open again, forcibly ignoring the light and taking in her surroundings. She saw a toilet and a sink to the left of her and attached to the wall above her was a shower head. So she had managed to find a place to sleep at least. She tried to raise her arms up but her body was refusing to co-operate, instead trying to drag her back down into a sleep. She refused, not happily.

Her eyes flickered down, taking in that she was still fully clothed. That's a bonus at least. She could also see there was a clothed arm around her abdomen, holding her quite closely. How she hadn't noticed before she put down to the fact that she was having trouble feeling her face, let alone anything else.

Control of her body came back all of a sudden. One moment she was lying there, willing her body to move so she could sit up and look at who ever she had used as a mattress, knowing already that it wasn't one of her friends, then she was moving upwards, her back releasing a residual of cracks and feeling returned completely. She wished it hadn't. Sleeping in a bath, no matter how comfortable the person underneath you was, was never a good idea. She felt far too stiff and she cracked her toes, rubbing her face with her hands. She hoped to god she didn't look too horrible and then figured she probably looked worse the night before.

Shira readjusted how she was sitting and was greeted with a sleeping grunt from behind her. She jumped a little, for the moment completely forgetting why she had wanted to sit up in the first place before turning around. Her mouth fell open with a pop, her eyebrows raising in surprise as she tilted her head. Ishimura is never going to let me live this down, Shira thought as she bit her lower lip. Still, it could have been worse.

Aomine Daiki looked more uncomfortable than she presumed she would have looked, but in a way he looked kind of adorable. He was still asleep but Shira could tell he was going to wake up soon, he had that look on his face. The arm that had been wrapped around her waist had fallen against his own body, his hand still sitting against her stomach. The other was hanging over the edge of the bath causing Shira to wince. A fuzzy arm was going to greet him when he finally came too.

Shira twisted how she was sitting, completely readjusting herself she was sitting on Aomine's thighs and facing him. His hand had slipped from holding her in the process, falling completely onto his own stomach. She wasn't willing to leave the bathroom until she knew exactly what had happened the night before, so she started poking Aomine's chest sharply.

"Wake up, come on wake up," Shira whined, using to hands. Aomine replied with a grunt, his eyes opening slowly and misted with a haze. He appeared worse than Shira did but he started moving his arms quicker than Shira had managed. He rubbed his face with both hand before letting them drop onto his chest.

"You're annoying," he managed to mumble which resulted in him letting out a loud yawn. He made no move to try and get Shira off him in any case, and Shira wasn't surprised. This wasn't the first time she woke up with a guy she didn't remember crashing with and she sincerely doubted it would be the last.

"You're so observant, don't fall back asleep!" Shira shook his shoulders roughly when Aomine let his head drop against the back of the tub, his eyes closing again. He let out another grunt, rubbing his temple and waving the other hand in front of her face as he winced.

"Stop, you're too noisy."

"I'll start singing the macarena if you don't stay awake you..." Shira's sentence disappeared into a mumble as Aomine shoved his hand against her mouth, groaning as he clutched his forehead. Shira laughed at him. To think such a big boy couldn't hold his own liquor, wait was it him she was playing beer pong with? She couldn't even remember now. Instead she licked the palm of his hand, only wondering for a moment where it might have been. Aomine looked to her in surprise, not pulling his hand away as she expected. Shira smirked. This was not a game that he should try and play with her, Mr 'Only-I-Can-Beat-Me'. She grazed her teeth against the fleshy part of his palm and he pulled his palm away, frowning slightly.

"You're really weird."

"I'll add that to my repertoire of annoying and noisy," Shira sniffed, but then she grinned dangerously, "as well as basketball."

"You were lucky."

"Looks like the only one who can beat you is me," Shira teased, leaning forward so she was resting on Aomine's chest. She saw his cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink, so she wriggled her head forward slightly so her face only a few centimetres away from his. His deep blue eyes grew slightly wide but he didn't pull away. Aomine was much more amusing than teasing Hyuuga, that was for certain. "Did I play you in beer pong last night?"

"You don't remember?"

"Do I take that as yes?" Aomine grunted, looking away for moment and Shira noticed his jaw clench.

"I'll take that as yes, and that I also won."

"Another bout of luck."

"You could just admit I'm better than you," Shira muttered, bringing her arms up and resting her elbows against his pecks. She pulled her head up, effectively lifting herself off him again and lacing her fingers together and resting her chin in the finger hammock she had made. Aomine winced before of her elbows digging in and Shira grinned a little. "If you do I'll move my arms."

"You're not better," Aomine grunted with a stubborn shake of his head. Shira rolled her eyes, knowing his ego was far larger than his common sense. He looked back to her, a sly grin stretching out on his lips. Shira knew, had she been any different to him, that she should have made a quick get away then. Unfortunately, Aomine wasn't the only person who's ego was bigger than their common sense. "How much do you remember about last night?"

Shira already knew where this would lead. She would say nothing and then Aomine would tease her about the copious amounts of sexual things they would have enjoyed together before collapsing in the bath tub for the night. She also knew that it wasn't true. Her belt was the dead give away, the fact that it was still on and tight meant it hadn't been taken off or loosened. However, there was a small problem with the fact there was a small mark poking out from under Aomine's collar along his right clavicle, a favourite spot for Shira. Ishimura definitely wasn't going to let her live this down.

"Not a lot, but did I give you this?" Shira questioned as her fingers dragged along his chest, tugging his collar down to reveal a nasty, purple hicky that was quite large. Yep, that looked like a personal branding from a one Shira Tamiko. Aomine looked down, seeing the hickey and he nodded slightly.

"Not as bad as what Midorima got."

"Wait, I gave one to Midorima?"

"No, that loud mouth did, the one who was hanging out with Takao all night." Shira tilted her head to the side, shaking it slightly. She had no idea who he was talking about but she narrowed it down to two people; Ishimura and Katsumi. However she doubted that Katsumi would give Midorima a hickey. She doubted even moreso that Midorima would willingly accept one.

"So what other stupid shit did I get up to last night?"

"I don't know, I got here late. Can I go back to sleep now?" Aomine yawned, trying to settle himself again. Shira shook her head, leaning forward and kissing the underside of his jaw lightly. Aomine's eyes flew open as she moved her face incredibly close to his.

"Not until you tell me everything you know."

"You sure you want to know everything, I mean you did get up to some pretty bad..." Aomine trailed off when Shira's hand smashed against the edge of the bath tub. Her head was once again tilted but her eyes were narrowed quite dangerously. Aomine shrunk against the cold of the bath tub, feeling his breath getting hitched in his throat. He thought Akashi was terrifying, he held nothing against Shira. He could practically see the dark aura pulsing from her as she leant in against his ear.

"You pulled away when I licked your palm and you freaked when I kissed your jaw. You really expect me to believe I did anything else than give a hickey to you? You're not as big as a boy as you'd like to think, Daiki," Shira hissed through her teeth before nipping at his ear. He twitched away and she could hear his heart beating fast and hard. She pulled back, glaring at him in the eye. Her patience was wearing thin. "Now, tell me."

"When I got here you were playing Takao in beer pong and beat him pretty easily. He got wasted and then you challenged me. I managed to get two in but you wiped the board clean. You then went looking for loud mouth and I found you lying in the bath complaining about something. Then you pulled me in and attacked me," Aomine rattled off quickly, looking down as he did. Shira let his words roll around in her head before pulling back, tapping her chin with her index finger. It certainly did sound like her, honestly a bit tame to what she had done before. Wait, if Ishimura was loud mouth then she disappeared at some point during the night.

"Hmm, when you say attacked..."

"You gave me this and a few others," Aomine mumbled as he tapped his clavicle. Yeah, now it's starting to sound a lot more like herself. She let out a sigh, looking around the bathroom again. It was small, very small compared to the rest of the house and probably out of the way. So why had Aomine been the one to find her?

"So you came looking for me when I disappeared then huh?" Shira leant against his torso again, her lips against his ear purring seductively. Shira felt his joints lock up and she fought back a laugh. She was going to have a bit of fun with this one. Still, she was surprised he had come looking for her considering his hard ass attitude.

"I, er, S-Satsuki asked..." Aomine trailed off as Shira started dragging her fingers up and down his chest. Shira bit her lip, trying to repress a laugh from escaping her lips. Seriously, boys were so easy to befuddle it was hardly amusing any more. This one in particular was especially easy. In fact he was a little too easy. Wait, where would Ishimura have disappeared off to? Shira decided to deal with Aomine first and then try to find her friend.

Her fingers drumbed against his jaw, turning him to face her. She didn't even hesitate, closing her eyes and pushed her lips against his. Clearly Aomine was caught off guard before he seemed to jump, well as best as he could considering he was still stuck in the bathtub more than she was. She grinned a little, trailing her tongue across his lips and he opened them slightly, obviously unsure of what he was meant to be doing.

Shira heard someone talking on the other side of the door and she tried to place where she had heard the voice. Ah yes, that must have been Touou's captain. She heard them mutter Aomine's name and the grin on her face turned dangerous. Without warning she ground her hips against Aomine's groin whilst simultaneously biting and sucking hard on his lip. He let out a hiss his hips rising slightly but Shira gripped the side of the bath, pulling herself out in one swift motion. She landed on the otherside of the bath in front of the sink, peering in the mirror.

"Yeah, I'm going to go and find the loud mouth," she said as she fixed her hair, spinning on her heel to face Aomine. She grinned at him, crossing her arms over her chest as she survey the current state he was in. Yeah, he was way too easy. She tilted her head, staring pointedly at his groin, his jeans starting to look a bit tight. "Want help with that?"

"Ah, yes please." Shira laughed, pretty certain she was never going to hear him use the word please again in her life. She stepped back towards the tub, leaning down and gently brushing her lips against his. With one hand she reached out, not taking her eyes off of his, and gave the shower knob a hard twist. She jumped out of the way as freezing cold water splashed down onto Aomine, making him shriek as he scrambled to get out of the tub. "You bitch!"

"I helped!" Shira cackled as she shoved the door open, bolting out of the room which was currently occupied by two people in the bed. Looks like Touou's captain wasn't alone, but she didn't catch sight of who had joined him as whoever they were ducked under the covers as soon as the door was shoved open. She didn't looked over her shoulder when she heard Aomine stumble out of the bathroom after her, but she did settle on waking everyone in the house up as she shrieked, shouldering the door to the bedroom open and bolting for the stairs. Aomine wasn't that far behind her and she shrieked again, leaping the whole distance of the stairs and almost going through the wall.

She turned at the last second, blazing through the lounge room and nodding momentarily to a very confused Meyer who was looking up quite groggy from her spot on the lounge. Seriously was there anyone who didn't find a human pillow last night? Shira was brought back into reality when she felt Aomine's fingers rake across her arm as he tried to grab her. She let out another shriek, earning a groan from everyone around her and she ran into the backyard. Thankfully Katsumi's house, in fact the lot she lived in, was pretty big and had a surprisingly large tree in the middle of the grassed backyard.

Shira bolted for the tree, almost making it when an arm snaked around her waist and a she was yanked backwards. Shira completely lost her footing, slamming back into Aomine's chest and sending them both into a crashing pile on the ground. Shira was the first to recover, mostly due to Aomine's hang over being worse, and she scrambled to get to her feet. She managed to but Aomine grabbed her ankle, yanking her back to the ground. She fell with a heavy thud and before she could do anything else Aomine pulled her back to him, pinning her down by lying on top of her. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her arms in tight.

Shira felt the water that he had been soaked with slowly start to soak through her own clothes. So she gave in. She didn't move and just waited. The ball was in Aomine's court now, how was he going to play it. Shira smiled ruefully. This was much more interesting than trying to find Ishimura. She jumped slightly when Aomine's lips found her neck, biting her skin and sucking quite hard. Shira groaned and wriggled, trying to pull away. At least she was decent enough to give him a hickey where no one would see.

"That's for all the ones you gave me," Aomine growled. Shira supposed he was intending to be intimidating but she could only laugh. She had met intimidating and Aomine was like a puppy compared to them.

"Oh hush, you probably moaned and mewled like the virgin you are," Shira cackled. She caught Aomine by surprise, turning herself around in his arms with a strength he did expect and put her knee up against his groin. Aomine shrunk back from her, looking at her like she was something from the black lagoon and she pet his cheek lightly. "You may be big and scary Aomine, but you can't play the bad boy with a heart like yours."

"What are you talking about?" Shira gripped his shoulder and rolled him over, not even being hindered by his attempt at resistance. She grabbed his wrists, slamming his arms above his head and pinning him into place.

"I'm talking about the fact that you're soft Aomine." Shira leant forward, her lips grazing against his ear. Her thoughts were jerked to faces of guys who were just like Aomine. All talk and no walk. She had met every kind of guy except the one she wanted. "And I don't have time for soft."


	19. Shutoku Party : Meyer

A shrieking sound echoed through Meyer's head and she opened one eye, certain she had heard the noise before. She sat up on her elbow, rubbing her eyes with her other hand and blinking twice. Shira flew past her, time seeming to slow down as Shira stared at her. So, this was the reason for the noise all of a sudden. Meyer barely registered Aomine lunging forward into view, trying desperately to get a grip on Shira's arm. She let out another shriek and then they were gone out the back door. Meyer decided not to question why Aomine looked to be soaked to the bone.

Instead she slumped back against the cushions of the lounge, staring forward. Meyer remembered almost everything of the night, she had decided not to drink. She had been awake to the wee hours of the morning talking and she looked over her shoulder to see the person who had preoccuppied all of her time.

For some reason Seirin had also appeared, Hyuuga dragging along a rather sulky looking Riko who looked like she was ready to bash in the head of the Iwozuka team, namely Shira and Ishimura who were louder and more in your face than usual. All Meyer knew about the agreement between Seirin and their coach on condition of attending was they weren't allowed to drink a single drop of alcohol. Riko couldn't deny Shira a thank you for keeping Aomine away from Kagami, the two almost bursting into a fight since Aomine was fuelled by alcohol. Meyer could only guess what Shir ahad done to get herself into the position of running away shrieking. She knew Shira didn't feel like she was in danger, there was a difference between her shriek and her scream.

"Did someone try and murder a cat or something?" Kagami yawned, running a hand through his hair before snuggling his face deeper into the pillow that he had stolen for the night. Meyer's pillow. They had ended up in a fight about who got to use it (Kagami completely disregarding that it was actually Meyer's) and that lead to them talking most of the night. Surprisingly he didn't only talk about basketball, he knew a lot about cooking as well.

"Aomine's going to kill Tamiko," Meyer yawned back, sounding like a kitten meowing more than anything. Kagami laughed at her but the sound was muffled by the pillow. Meyer readjusted how she was lying, using his back as a rest and closing her eyes. It was way to early for her to be up considering she and Kagami had been the last to fall asleep. Admittedly, she had been a little disappointed when Kiyoshi had taken a rather drunken Koganei home but she knew that his knee was acting up a little. "Huh? You better not be drooling on my pillow."

"I said," Kagami mumbled as he lifted his head from the fabric, looking at her with lazy eyes, "why is Aomine going to kill her Shira?"

"She was probably being mean to him. She's not particularly kind to boys like him," Meyer replied, her head jostling as Kagami's shoulder moved up. He didn't stuff his head back into the pillow, so she presumed that meant they were going to be talking again. She took this chance, pulling off his shoulder and sticking her head underneath his arm, face planting into her pillow. It smelt different but at least he hadn't slobbered all over the damn thing.

"What do you mean 'boys like him'? Idiot, now who's drooling all over the pillow." Meyer lifted her head up, looking at him out the corner of her eye with a small smile.

"Aomine's not enough. Too soft."

"Huh?"

"I don't know, Tamiko's weird," Meyer yawned again, letting her face fall into the pillow. Kagami seemed to be mulling over what she said. Meyer had long ago given up trying to understand what Shira meant whenever she mentioned that a boy was too soft. Ishimura was the only who seemed to understand, because whenever Shira brought it up she would get a swift hand to the back of her head and deathly glare. Meyer felt herself shrugging to her thoughts, she was sure she'd find out some day.

"If he's too soft, why doesn't she just harden him up?"

"Was that an innuendo?" Meyer questioned, lifting her head off the pillow enough so that he could hear. Kagami was silent before letting out a deep, throaty laugh. Clearly it wasn't meant to be. Meyer groaned again, rolling onto her side so she could at least see him out the corner of her eye. It was weird talking to someone she couldn't see. "Because innuendon't."

"You don't, that was terrible," Kagami groaned, rolling his eyes at the terrible pun. Meyer let out a laugh.

"They're meant to be bad. That's what makes them good."

"I think that's a lie people say to make themselves feel better."

"Don't get shitty because you didn't think of it first," Meyer laughed which turned into another yawn. Kagami caught it, yawning back and then blinking sheepishly. His earlier energy dissipated and he groaned. Meyer frowned and then let out a small laugh as he rest his forehead in the crook of her neck, his morning stubble tickling her a little. "You looked like a little lion."

"I'm not little," Kagami mumbled, his lips brushing against her skin and she let out another laugh. Kagami moved his arm to cover his face, mostly to block out the light that was streaming in through the window but also partly to hide his blush. The last girl who had been this close to him had been Alex and that didn't really count for anything.

Meyer let out another laugh, prompting Kagami to look up at her. She was grinning mischeviously and then she looked like she was going to yawn, but as she did so she let out a noise that sounded like a little tiger. She laughed again, prodding him in the chest.

"That was you."

"I do not yawn like that."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't."

"_Yeah, you do_," Meyer grinned back, speaking in English. Kagami tilted his head, once again dragging his stubble along her skin. Meyer bit her tongue to stop the laughter but it managed to escape slightly. The last thing she wanted Kagami to know was that she was ticklish.

"_I am not an adorable little lion. I am a man._"

"_Oh yes, the manliest man that ever did man_." Meyer was laughing again and even Kagami cracked a smile. The night before they held most of their conversation in English, mostly because Kagami didn't want everyone else to hear. He could understand now why the other girls looked up to Meyer as both a coach and a captain, she had a way of making people feel very comfortable around her. Was that why she was such a devastating player on the court?

"_You make it sound so childish and stupid_."

"_Well, you are_."

"_Am what?_"

"_Never mind_," Meyer grinned. She turned her face back into the pillow, snuggling into it and effectively taking away the spot Kagami was resting his head on. He let out a small whine, letting his head rest on her back between her shoulder blades. She had done the same last night and Kagami hadn't thought much about it, but he was taller than she was and, because he was losing the head of the lounge, he was forced to bring his legs up so his feet wouldn't dangle off the edge of the lounge. "_Little lion man_."

"_Huh_?"

"_You can be the Little Lion Man, like the song_."

"_Please stop talking_," Kagami whined, pushing her head back into the pillow and he felt her shake as she was laughing. He forced himself to hold back the laugh that she was going to make him release, instead coughing it back down before closing his eyes, he yawned, feeling really tired. Without even thinking about it, he nuzzled his cheek against Meyer's back and wrapped his arm around her like he did with his pillows. As soon as he realised what he had done it felt like his whole body froze. He most certainly did not want to come across as a sleaze to Meyer, he had discovered she was actually pretty nice when she wasn't in a training mood, and he was immediately struck with not knowing what to do. Should he pull his arm away or should he just remain how he is? Kagami closed his eyes, not moving a muscle. He lay there, too afraid to move and he managed to keep his breathing steady. He started to droop back into sleep when someone woke them up.

"Hey Meyer, I was just..." Katsumi walked into the room and stopped, her voice trailing off. Kagami didn't open his eyes to see her reaction, mostly because Meyer didn't react to Katsumi coming into the lounge room reither. Kagami heard her walk towards the lounge and heard her clothes stretch as she either leant or stretched down. "I know you're awake moron."

Kagami felt Meyer move slightly under him but he was too afraid to stir. Meyer breathed deeply, making his head rise with her back before she settled back comfortably. He heard one of them 'tsk' and wondered if it was Meyer.

"Sorry about Tamiko, she doesn't know how to be quiet," Meyer whispered, returning to speaking Japanese.

"I think everyone's fallen back asleep. I looked out the window, Aomine's sitting out there alone." There was a few minutes of silence and Kagami focused on keeping his breath steady. His palms were beginning to get sweaty as he felt incredibly nervous. Meyer hadn't said anything to him and he doubted she would have just let him do whatever the fuck he wanted because he was bigger than she was. "Are you all right here?"

"I'm fine. He's not that heavy."

"I should know better than to question you by now."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about Tachi Rei." Kagami felt Meyer's back muscles spasm slightly at the name and he was very curious about who this Tachi Rei was. Meyer just grunted and he felt her move again, no doubt sticky her face back into the pillow. Katsumi sighed but Kagami heard her walking out of the lounge, the door shutting quietly behind her.

"Ugh, boobs," Meyer muttered into the pillow and she rolled over onto her back. Kagami jolted, sitting up and blinking around looking rather confused. He let out a yawn and settled his head on her stomach, closing his eyes. Meyer smiled ruefully, wondering if she mentioned that she knew he hadn't been asleep but she decided against it. The poor boy seemed to blush at everything and plus he looked adorable.

Her attention turn on his legs awkwardly curled up on the couch. She tilted her head, realising he was a good foot down from the head of the lounge and she let out a small chuckle. She tugged gently on a peace of his hair, quietly saying his name to waken him. It took a few minutes, but he turned his face towards her, his crimson eyes hazy again.

"Mmm?"

"Come on, use the pillow, you're about to cut off your circulation," Meyer laughed, shuffling to the side and pulling him upwards with a heave. Kagami wriggled up but he looked slightly disappointed. He closed his eyes and let his head rest on the pillow, his chest still facing in her direction. Meyer shrugged, weaving her arms around his neck and pulling him close, burying her face against his collar bone. She could feel the heat that was rising on his face as it stretched down his neck but he managed to bring himself to wrap his arms around her, holding her close. "You're adorable Kagami."

"What happened to manliest man?" Kagami questioned sleepily, burying his face in her loose hair. The movement made her laugh again, closing her eyes as she wondered what happened to the girls during the night. She lost track of Ishimura shortly after Shira had challenged Takao to beer pong and promptly destroyed the poor boy, remembering Ishimura muttering something about Takao being incredibly pretty and that she wanted to prove something. It was around that time that Kiyoshi was taking Koganei home, asking Meyer to distract Riko so he could get the drunken Seirin player out.

Meyer had done as he asked, finding Riko scolding Kagami for losing sight of Kuroko in the mass of party goers and mentioned that she had seen Hyuuga talking to one of the girls from Shutoku, an upperclassman. She mentioned how she had seen her trying to give Hyuuga a drink and Riko was immediately gone. Meyer figured that would cause her attention to be preoccupied for a while, but didn't realise that Kagami would then be left standing awkwardly alone, trying to ignore the Shutoku players who were blatantly saying (probably in their minds) what they would do to him if they got him alone.

Meyer hadn't taken pity on Kagami, she was worried for his safety. So without warning she grabbed his hand and dragged him the house after her, searching for Ishimura (to find out if she knew the names of the girls so she could inform Katsumi that her team mates blatantly talking about their kinks and kinds of things they wanted to do in front of said person who was clearly extremely uncomfortable was all sorts of inappropriate and if Meyer found them ever doing it again she would not hesitate to let Ishimura show such in a manner that didn't involve words) only to find the latter completely disappeared into thin air.

_Shira charged past, shouting 'Yuki' with an Aomine hot on her heels, growling and muttering about something or other she had said, both drunk and tension swirling between them. Meyer decided to leave them be, Shira was more than capable of handling herself and she doubted Aomine would be able to do anything she wouldn't be able to return tenfold. Meyer dragged Kagami into the kitchen, where Miyaji and Otsubo were sitting red faced, a beer in either of their hands, laughing at something. _

_"Hey Miyaji, did you see where Takao went?"_

_"Huh? Oh, hey Meyer," Miyaji laughed, reaching out and lacing his fingers around her wrist, pulling her closer. "We need another game of truth or dare soon, Midorima was all fuddled for a week afterwards!"_

_"Not answering the question Miyaji," Meyer scolded, unwrapping his fingers and ruffling his hair. He hummed, pushing his head to meet her touch and she looked to Otsubo. _

_"I don't know about Ta - hic - kao, but Midorima was - hic - yelling something about a dress as he - hic - went up the stairs!" Otsubo smiled back. Meyer nodded, leaning forward and prying the drink from his hands. Otsubo let out a whine, trying to grab it back but Meyer put her hand on his chest. _

_"No, I think you've had enough. Miyaji, anyone offers Otsubo any drinks you tell them that Katsumi says no, okay?"_

_"Okie-dokie," Miyaji grinned. Meyer shook her head, turning to Kagami. He was staring at Miyaji and Otsubo in confusion and Meyer wondered what he was going to think the next time he faced Shutoku in a match. Probably the same kind of thing that Meyer was going to think the next time she did as well. "Stay here, I'll be back in a moment."_

_"A-all right." Meyer nodded before she disappeared out of the kitchen. She raced up the stairs, intent on finding Ishimura but was slightly worried about whatever she was going to find. Aomine and Shira were arguing in front of a barely open door and Meyer let them be, hearing Ishimura laughing quite hard from the first room on her right. Taking a deep breath she promised herself that she had seen whatever might possibly be happening in there before as she gripped the handle and gave it a sharp turn._

_To say she lost her shit would have been a lie. In fact she almost collapsed because she was laughing so hard. She pulled the door shut again, hearing Takao protesting that he wasn't pretty and that Ishimura had screwed it all up, whilst Ishimura just continued to laugh loudly through the wood. Meyer managed to get her breath back, fully prepared to walk back down the stairs when she heard a loud 'thud' come from the other end of the hall._

_"Holy shit," she gasped, looking up to where Aomine and Shira had been standing. Shira was gripping Aomine's collar so tight her knuckles were white, her eyebrows furrowed in a fury. Aomine's hand was in her blue-fade-to-green hair, his other on her waist and holding her close to him tightly. Meyer would have ripped them apart, worried for her friend if Aomine wasn't the one shoved up against the wall, literally up. His feet were barely touching the ground anymore. "For fuck's sake Shira at least go in the room!" _

_Shira obliged, kicking the door open with her foot and dragging Aomine in after her. Meyer scratched the back of her head, feeling a little sorry for poor Aomine. She hoped he didn't expect anything to happen after that night. Meyer sighed and stomped back down the stairs, intent on making her way back to the kitchen when she spotted Kazuki mixed in with the crowd. _

_He was standing in the corner, talking quite intently with Saka who was playing with his collar lightly. Meyer stopped for a moment, grinning and giving Saka the thumbs up when her underclassman looked her way. Saka looked slightly confused and Meyer just shook her head, figuring that Kazuki hadn't said anything yet. She ducked and weaved through the crowd, seeing Jo sitting on the chair, talking to a well built blonde guy who was quite loud but Meyer could see Jo was enjoying herself, beer in hand. _

_She walked into the kitchen and found that Otsubo sitting at the table with his head resting on crossed arms and Miyaji attempting to aim a pineapple at his head. Meyer rushed forward, yanking the pineapple of Miyaji who let out a whine. When he saw it was Meyer he grinned happily, ruffling her hair. _

_"Meyer! We need another game of truth or dare!"_

_"Miyaji where do you keep getting pineapples from?"_

_"I found it!" Miyaji then looked down to Otsubo, frowning. He prodded the back of Otsubo's head, pouting slightly. "Hey, wake up! You can't fall asleep!"_

_"Miyaji, look at me, where did Kagami go?" _

_"Huh?"_

_"Kagami, you know, Seirin's ace? I left him here with you!" _

_"Oh yeah, he went outside." Meyer was about to put the pineapple back on the table then thought better about it, holding it tightly as she walked out the back. She didn't want Otsubo to have a concussion in the weeks before his game against Seirin. Meyer let out a sigh, hiding the pineapple in the small garden beside the back door and looked around for Kagami. Seriously how could he be hard to spot, he was - oh shit. _

_The girls from earlied surrounded him, either completely oblivious to the fact he didn't want to talk to them or not caring. One was holding a glass of dark liquid out to him, trying to make him take it but his hands remained deep in his pockets. He continued to look around and when he caught Meyer's eye he didn't look away. Stupid moron, why couldn't he be a jerk and tell them to fuck off?_

_"Hey Kagami!" Meyer shouted loudly, making her presence known. The other girls caught sight of her, sneering slightly. They recognised her as friends with Katsumi and Meyer did her best to try and memorise their faces as she grabbed Kagami's wrist, pulling his hand out of his pocket. "Come on, I told you to stay in the kitchen." _

_"Sorry," Kagami mumbled and Meyer just shook her head. _

_"This is your fault, those upperclassmen have been talking about you all night."_

_"I heard."_

_"Stay away from them, they don't look safe."_

_"I didn't realise I gave them any hint of me wanting them near me."_

"Hey Meyer." Meyer was drawn out from her memories of last night, looking up to Kagami. She couldn't see his face very well, just the underside of his jaw and she saw that he was clenching his teeth together.

"Mmm?"

"Thank you, last night. Thanks for, um, saving me." Meyer laughed, stretching and kissing Kagami's neck lightly before nuzzling against the crook of his shoulder and neck. She definitely felt the need to sleep a little more before going home.


	20. Shutoku Party : Takami

Takami looked up from her mobile upon hearing someone let out a shriek. No doubt that belonged to Shira, no one else could quite release a bellow of shrieks quite like she could. Takami stretched up off the bed a little better, trying to see if it was Shira who bolted past. It was, and hot on her heels was Aomine Daiki. Takami frowned before shrugging her shoulders, falling back to the ground and pressing send. She stuffed her mobile back into her pocket before letting out a loud yawn.

"You think we should do something about that?" Jo questioned as she rolled over the bed. She landed with a heavy thud on the ground, her legs smacking Takami in the abdomen. Takami shook her head, letting out a grunt.

"Shira got herself into the mess so she can get herself out." Jo nodded with a yawn and stood, stumbled slightly, then continued to the door. Takami didn't ask where she was going, she didn't particularly want to know, so she remained on the floor, quite pleased with herself.

Last night, compared to the last Shutoku party they attended, had gone quite well for her. She hadn't had much to drink and therefore did not lose complete control and go nuts. If only that could be said for the rest of her team. Shira and Ishimura were wasted by the time Seirin and Touou turned up, both disappearing pretty early in the night (for them at least). Jo hadn't been much better either. The more she talked to people the more she drank and by the time she crashed into the room to sleep, she didn't care about where. Namely, Takami had to shove her onto the mattress and had to sleep next to her. Who knew Jo would be a cuddly drunk?

Takami heard Shira shriek from downstairs again and she rolled her eyes. Shira was going to be shot if she kept making so much noise. She was about to stand up when she, for the first time since lying down, looked to her left. She burst into laughter, moving closer to under the bed, seeing a pair of brown eyes blinking back at her.

"Ano, g-good morning miss." Takami put her hand over her mouth to stop her laughter, crawling forward and sticking her head in the gap between the bed and the floor. The poor boy looked to be about her age and was hugging a pillow tightly, curled up around it.

"Good morning. May I ask why you're hiding under the bed?"

"I was meant to be keeping an eye on Aomine for Imayoshi-Sempai but he got away. It's all my fault, I should have done it better, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Takami pulled back when he started chanting an apology over and over again. She frowned, looking at him for a moment before pulling back and climbing to her knees.

"Fuck that," she muttered under her breath as she put her hands on her hips. She could still hear him mumbling his apologies and she rolled her eyes. This was something his captain was going to have to deal with, which meant that she was going to have to find Imayoshi. She smacked a hand against her forehead, trying to figure out where to start. She remembered that Imayoshi had disappeared up the stairs about an hour after Shira and Ishimura had collectively disappeared, she knew this because she had run into him after coming down from using Katsumi's bathroom. Literally ran into the Touou captain. He mustn't have known who she was but he smiled politely and accepted her mumbled apology.

So either Imayoshi was still upstairs or he had disappeared downstairs. Takami sighed, wondering where in the hell Jo had managed to get herself to because she could really use her help. Takami sighed, looking at the first bedroom in front of her. There was only one way in trying to find Imayoshi. She walked forward and gripped the door handle, shoving it open an peering in. She let out a snort of laughter before pulling the door shut. It should be interesting to see how Ishimura was going to handle that one.

So no, Imayoshi was not in the room that Ishimura was preoccupying but that didn't mean she went to bed alone. She shook her head, still grinning at what she had seen before walking to the bedroom at the end of the hall. If he wasn't in there then she would just try and keep an ear out for that loud mouth blonde that was his centre.

Takami didn't bother knocking on the door as it was already slightly ajar. She pushed it open with one hand and stepped in, catching a sight she wasn't exactly wanting to see. Imayoshi was standing in the middle of the room, looking back at Takami with his mouth slightly open as he was halfway through pulling his boxers up his legs.

"Most people pull them all the way up," Takami commented as she rolled her hip, leaning on it. Imayoshi smiled despite his obvious uncomfortable position and quickly hoisted his boxers up to his hips.

"Most people knock before entering a room."

"Is that was Shira and Aomine did when they came screaming down the hall?"

"Fair point," Imayoshi commented as he grabbed his jeans. Takami sighed, looking over her shoulder down the hall and wondering how exactly Imayoshi was going to deal with the apologetic mushroom hiding under the bed. No doubt the poor guy had seen Aomine run past after Shira.

"In the room at the end, near the stair case with the door open, there's an apologising sob story hiding under the bed. From your team."

"Ah, Sakurai. I was wondering where he had disappeared to," Imayoshi laughed, straightening up as he looked for his shirt. Takami narrowed in on the little red marks scattered over his chest and as he turned, she couldn't help but notice the thin lines trailing down his back.

"By any chance, if he couldn't find Aomine within the hour, would he come looking for you? The sob story I mean?" Takami questioned, bringing her finger to her lips as she frowned. That shirt looked oddly familiar to her and then she grinned. That actually wasn't all that surprising at all.

"Possibly."

"Well, I think he's not just apologising for losing Aomine. I think you scarred him last night, captain," Takami bit back the laugh as she tried to remain serious. She couldn't really imagine what it would be like for that boy to walk in and, well, he didn't exactly strike Takami as the sort of person who would handle situations like that very well. Hence the hiding under the bed clutching a pillow in a vice grip.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I think the mushroom saw you getting your mushroom played with you idiot," Takami sighed as she pointed to his crotch. Imayoshi straightened up, scratching the back of his head as he thought this over. She could see a pained expression on his face but she doubted it was because he had been caught. She wouldn't want to try and deal with Sakurai either.

"Well that is problematic."

"Give him a shot of whiskey and try and make him forget the whole thing. Oh, and tell Hotaru I said hi," Takami smiled before disappearing out of the room. She didn't bother to wait around to hear whatever Imayoshi would reply with, she needed some fresh air. She stomped down the stairs in time to see Katsumi walk out of the lounge room, pinching the bridge of her nose and muttering to herself. "Is something wrong Ai?"

"Your captain has caused some problems for me with my team."

"At least Hotaru had a good night."

"Don't remind me, I'm going to make her scrub that room from top to bottom when she," Katsumi flicked her tongue out of her lips, trying to think of something to say but then just shook her head, leaving it up in the air. Takami shrugged, following her into the kitchen only to find a passed out Otsubo snoring on the table. Miyaji was curled up on the floor in front of the oven, sucking his thumb and mumbling occasionally.

"You Shutoku's know how to party."

"And You Iwozuka's know how to cause trouble. I got three players on my back complaining about Meyer, even though I do believe they are in the wrong, I got Shira running around the house shrieking like a banshee with Aomine hot on her ass, Ishimura disappeared to god knows where with Takao in tow and Jo threw one of my team mates out the front door for an unspecified reason."

"I'm glad I wasn't part of that mix."

"You caused enough trouble at the last party."

"I won't live that down will I?" Takami grumbled, resting her head in her hands and letting out a groan. She closed her eyes, thinking back to last night. She couldn't remember Jo throwing anyone out, but then again she moved surprisingly fast. The only thing that would make her do something like that would be a threat of violence. "Wait, Takao's up stairs."

"He's what now?"

"First bedroom on the right, really, you can't miss him," Takami started laughing again as she remembered Takao's appearance. Katsumi seemed apprehensive but went upstairs anyway. Takami had three minutes of silence before she heard Katsumi shut the door, breaking out in laughter as she walked back into the kitchen. Her face was red and her eyes beginning to water slightly.

"Holy shit, that's impressive."

"I didn't recognise him at first either."

"Holy shit, holy shit! I knew Takao was pretty but damn," Katsumi laughed, causing Otsubo to stir. He rose his head of his arms, frowning slightly before letting out a groan and rubbing his face with both hands. Katsumi stopped laughing, turning to grab a glass from the cupboard and filling it with water. She passed it to Takami who in turn passed it to a rather green looking Shutoku captain.

"Morning Otsubo," Takami nodded and she recieved a grunt in reply. Otsubo was more concerned with holding the glass of water to his lips as he slowly drank, wincing slightly at the sound of the back door slamming shut. Takami and Katsumi looked up to see a rather irritated looking Aomine stroll past in the hall and a few minutes later heard the front door.

"Wonder what number Shira did on him."

"I'd rather not think about. I don't think Meyer will be happy though," Takami replied as she pulled out one of the kitchen tables, sitting to the far right of Otsubo. She wasn't inclined to sit in front of nor next to the captain who looked to be turning greener by the second. Katsumi noticed it as well, so she turned and grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it in Otsubo's hands.

"Eat that, you'll better." Otsubo groaned slightly but started gently chewing on the bed nonetheless. Takami wondered if he was about to fall asleep again when Katsumi looked over to Miyaji, shaking her head. "I found a pineapple in the garden this morning."

"Where does he get them?"

"I don't know, and I don't really want to know," Katsumi laughed as she sat down in front of Otsubo. He was looking a little better now that he had some food in him, but there were dark bags under his eyes that screamed how much his head would be hurting. Katsumi reached out, patting his hair lightly before letting out a laugh. "Looks like Shutoku boys can't handle their liquor."

"Miyaji's fault," Otsubo mumbled as he bit another piece of bread. Katsumi shook her head, still laughing as she leant against the table. She rolled her eyes when Otsubo let out a loud groan, putting down his bread and leaning forward, clutching his head. Takami decided to make her leave then, not wanting to be there for when Otsubo eventually decided to release his stomach.

She headed towards the lounge room, opening the door and looking in to see if she knew anyone inside. She spotted Meyer quickly but let her be, she looked quite comfortable cuddling up to Kagami, and decided to try and find Jo. Shira could, in all honesty, be anywhere, including making her way back home. As she passed the stairs she looked up, contemplating going up to see if Imayoshi was dealing with Sakurai but decided against it. She didn't feel like dealing with an apologetic sobber just yet.


	21. Shutoku Party : Jo

Jo woke to Shira shrieking. She had been awake for a while in all honesty, but just drifting between consciousness and sleep. When Shira's voice echoed through her mind she found herself very much awake and rather irritated. Sure enough when Jo looked to the door Shira was bolting past, Aomine hot on her heels. Jo didn't question what had happened, in fact she didn't remember a lot of the night.

"You think we should do something about that?" Jo questioned as she dragged herself off the bed. She ended up rolling off and landed heavily. She would have groaned if she wasn't still a little out of it. What she wanted was some fresh air and her own bed.

"Shira got herself into the mess so she can get herself out," Takami answered from where she had sprawled out on the floor. Jo yawned as she nodded, gingerly climing to her feet which resulted in her stumbling. She swore under her breath as she headed to the door, hearing Jo let out another shriek.

"I'm going to kill her one day," Jo muttered under her breath as she stumbled down the stairs. She heard a door slam open and guessed that Shira was attempting to flee to the tree in Katsumi's backyard. She decided against going outside and stumbled out the front, sitting on the doorstep and looking around.

Her recollection of the night before was slightly blurry, but she could remember Shira was halfway between being in Aomine's face and his pants. Ishimura disappeared with Takao in tow and Meyer had been running around the better half of the night, sometimes accompanied by Kagami. She smiled lightly to herself as she thought to the last she had seen of Kazuki and Saka, a fleeting glance at the pair. Saka had all but pulled Kazuki into the corner of the room so they could talk to one another and then, just as they were leaving, she stretched up and shyly kissed his cheek.

"Ah, my little girls growing up," Jo beamed to herself as she rubbed the back of her head. She looked over her shoulder to the front door which had closed behind her, frowning. She wondered where Takami had ended up for the night and then found herself wondering how she managed to get in the bed. Jo shrugged her shoulders, looking back to the street before her. It was far too early for anyone to be up at the moment, Jo wondered why she was awake herself. She blamed the fact that she'd had alcohol and the fact it wasn't her own bed for waking up so early in the morning.

Jo let out a groan as a wave of nausea exploded in her stomach, causing her to lean forward and take deep breaths. She wouldn't vomit, she knew when she was going to vomit, but part of her really wanted to to make herself feel slightly better. Instead she butted the fleshy part of her palms into her eyes so hard she was seeing another galazy and tried to think back to the night before.

_..._

_"Three points to Iwozuka!" Shira cheered as Takao was forced to down another drink of Jacks. He grimaced and Jo stepped back, her hand on Midorima's chest as she made a splash gap for the pair. Ishimura was hanging off Takao's arm, cussing to Shira whilst simultaneously egging Takao on. Takao missed his next shot, grimacing when Shira held the ping pong ball in her hands. Jo was surprised that she was still standing, let alone shooting, because of how she was swaying in place. _

_"Come on Shira, show him how Iwozuka does it!" Saka cheered, her bashfulness and speech impediment gone with her bout of liquid courage. Kazuki was behind her, one hand on her shoulder to stop her from running to the table and looking around him every so often, as though warning off some of the leers directed towards the underclassman. _

_Shira closed one eye, linging up Takao's last cup, before sending the ball forward. It ran around the rim for a few minutes and everyone held there breath before it plopped into the mixture. Takao let out a groan whilst Shira let out a whoop, jumping and punching the air, her knee almost spilling the table altogether. _

_"Rules are you drink mine too!" Shira laughed with a wink and Jo could see exactly how much of a bad idea that would be. Not only did Takao look like he would have more than enough after his last drink, Shira still had five of hers on the table, half filled with vodka. There was no way the poor boy would survive the night if he drank it. _

_"Come on Shira, he's about to fall just from his Jacks!" Ishimura seemed to have the same idea as Jo but Shira shook her head. She was a stubborn one at that but Jo wasn't keen on letting Takao have a single drop of her deadly mixture. _

_"Give them here, I'll drink them instead," Jo grumbled, stepping forward. She wasn't a big fan of vodka, preferring the bitterness of beer, but if Ishimura tried to drink them instead then she'd be trouble. The girl wasn't allowed to drink vodka under any circumstance and honestly, Midorima would probably drop after one of Shira's. _

_"That's not the rules though!" Shira shouted to no one in particular but she didn't stop Jo from grabbing one in each hand. The taller teen threw the mixture down in one go and continued with the second. The sickly burn travelled down her throat, warming her stomach but she ignored it. She dropped the plastic cups on the ground and downed the other three without paused, which in hindsight was probably a bad idea. _

_She glanced to Takao, who was now leaning heavily on Ishimura for support and mumbling something under his breath. He looked quite upset, but whether it was losing to Shira or not Jo didn't know. She shook her head, deciding to take her leave before she get's suckered into anyone elses drinks and headed out the back. She managed to hear someone new challenging Shira to beer pong though and the deep, baratone voice sounded familiar. She didn't dare glance back. _

_There weren't as many people outside as she suspected. There was a group of Shutoku upperclassmen standing a few metres away from the back door, all looking in the same direction every few moments. Jo followed there gaze and saw Kagami and Kuroko sitting on the bricks holding the flower bed, talking happily. Jo raised one eyebrow and walked over to the pair. _

_"You two have a reason for not drinking tonight?" Jo questioned, kneeling down in front of them because there wasn't much space left in front of them. Kuroko remained passive but Kagami crossed his arms, looking slightly annoyed. _

_"Coach says we're not allowed to, because we will have trouble playing Shutoku."_

_"I just saw Shutoku's point guard seeing stars, I think you'll be pretty even in the regard," Jo laughed, rubbing her temples. Shira's vodka drinks were starting to get to her head and she felt a little heavy in her limbs. _

_"Coach says Seirin cannot," Kuroko replied, repeating the main point of what Kagami said before. Jo put her hands up, feeling like there was a bit of tension in Kuroko's words. She may have been imagining it though, because of the burning in her stomach. _

_"Whoa, just saying Takao's drunk as a skunk and I think it was Miyaji stumbling into the kitchen muttering about a pick up," Jo shrugged. Kuroko was about to say something when the back door was thrown open, Koganei leaping the steps and running around on the lawn, attempting to quite drunkenly take his shirt off. He looked quite pleased with himself but Kiyoshi, who was chasing after him with a very worried look on his face, didn't. "And there goes your forward."_

_"Hey, can I get some help?" Kiyoshi panted as he ran past. Jo couldn't help but notice he was holding his knee slightly and that he didn't look like he was running as fast as he could. Jo stood, slightly shaky on her legs, dragging Kagami up with her. _

_"Come on," she mumbled as she walked to the far left of the grass. Koganei was happily skipping around, waving his shirt around like a flag and Jo had to admit it was a shame that Kiyoshi was trying to dampen his good mood. Then she remembered Kuroko saying Seirin couldn't drink. She watched Koganei carefully, who in turn was watching Kiyoshi as he tried to advance. "Try and shepherd him to Kagami or I!" _

_Kiyoshi nodded, his hands held out towards his friend. Koganei didn't look like he was about to go easily, running away from Kiyoshi with a high giggle. Jo ran forward, grabbing his wrist quickly and wrapped her arms around him. Before he had a chance to do anything she lifted him off the ground, walking over to Kiyoshi. The latter was smiling happily, taking Koganei's shirt from him. _

_"Thank you for your help," Kiyoshi beamed when he gripped Koganei's hand. For such a mischevious drunk, he was placid when caught. He sulked as Kiyoshi started telling him off for drinking before demanding her should drink. Jo shook her head, looking over to Kagami for a moment. The ace looked quite confused and was spinning around on the spot, looking for something. _

_"I'd get him out, it's hard to know who's where," Jo warned Kiyoshi before walking inside. She ran into Riko as the latter came out of a bathroom, who asked her if she had seen any of her members drinking. Jo lied, not sure if it was well or not, and stalled her for a few minutes talking about different training regimes so Kiyoshi would have enough time to Koganei in from outside before Riko went anywhere. She didn't buy much time though, because Ishimura dragging Takao up the stairs behind her with a rather distressed looking Midorima following, caught her attention. She contemplated following but decided she didn't want to see whatever they were going to get up to, and when she looked back down Riko was gone. _

_"Hey, you're Jo Kida right?" Jo looked around, trying to figure out who had said her name. She spotted a Touou player, their centre. Jo tried to rack her brain for what his name was but she couldn't for the life of her remember. She blamed the vodka, even though she wouldn't have remembered either way. He was looking at her, his cheeks kind of pink from the alcohol (or at least Jo presumed so) and sitting on one of the arm chairs. He was smiling happily so Jo walked over to him. _

_"Yeah that's me, we caught your game against Seirin, it was rough," Jo grinned. He nodded, grinning happily to himself and he took a swig out of the bottle of beer he was holding. _

_"Not as good as you're game against the Touou girls, man, you have an impenetrable defence!" Jo was glad that Ishimura wasn't standing near her because she could just imagine the onslaught of jokes and inappropriate comments the latter would make if she heard his words. Jo just shrugged her shoulders, taking the arm chair to his right. _

_"It was nothing really. Not like your game against Meisei High!"_

_"No I'm being serious, Imayoshi was even having trouble trying to calculate how to get through that, what was, the double team with you and your captain! They had no where to go and the second they tried to pass bandana-girl stole the ball! Every time!" Jo felt her cheeks burn as he spoke. Was this how it felt when people really admired the game you played, or was he just pulling a joke on her for shits and giggles? She tried to gauge his expression but he was sincere as she guessed he could be, after all drunk people are often the most honest. _

_"Imayoshi's your captain right?"_

_"Yeah, he can figure a lot of plays out but he couldn't get your barrier. It must be unpassable, huh?" Jo wanted to say no but when she thought about it, very rarely did anyone actually get passed their Double Barrier Block. Meyer would stand right in front of Jo's feet, bent forward slightly, completely prepared to take any dribble the opponent would take. Jo would cover the air in front of the hoop for any shots attempted and Ishimura would hang back waiting for the opponent to pass it off. _

_"Now that I think about it, it must be. We don't use it often though, I'm sure if we did someone would figure it out," Jo laughed, running a hand through her hair. _

_"Oh man, I completely forgot. I'm Wakamatsu Kousuke!"_

_..._

Jo pulled her hands away from her face when she heard the door behind her open. Behind her stood Aomine Daiki, who looked rather irritated and his clothes were soaking wet. Jo raised one eyebrow and he hesitated when he saw her before stomping down the steps.

"Shouldn't you wait for your team at least?" Jo questioned and Aomine just stuck his hands in his pockets, grumbling about a bitch or something like that. Jo let out a sigh, wondering what number Shira did on him before standing up herself. Speaking of team she figured she might as well try and find another one of hers. Her legs felt a lot stronger than they had earlier and the fresh air definitely did a lot to clear her mind. She opened hte door and stepped in, seeing Takami hesitating in front of the stairs and looking up them with a frown. "Is something wrong?"

Takami jumped, looking to her and smiling happily. She scratched the back of her head rather sheepishly before shaking it, nodding towards the kitchen, and Jo followed her in. She frowned when she spotted Miyaji curled under the oven sucking his thumb, but at least he wasn't leaning over the sink with his head in his hands like Otsubo.

"Rough night," Katsumi said over her shoulder as she rubbed his back, trying to help him get some of the stuff out of his stomach. Jo's nose curled up slightly but she didn't say anything and Takami would never again be in a position where she could. They both sat down in the chairs furtherst from the sink, Takami giving Otsubo pittiful glances.

"Apparently you threw someone out the front door last night," Takami commented and Jo let out a laugh. Though the memory was incredibly fuzzy, she knew it had something to do with Ishimura being threatened for hanging around Takao.

"My team mates aren't please," Katsumi shot over her shoulder before she recoiled from Ostubo, who shook ferociously before quietly dispelling the contents of his stomach in the sink. Jo wouldn't have even known he had vomited if it hadn't been for the sound of it hitting the metal. Katsumi pulled his head out of the basin by his hair and turned the water on, letting it wash down the drain. "Feel any better?"

Otsubo shook his head as Katsumi turned the water off, returning to rubbing his back. His back arched upwards to her touch and Jo smirked a little. They could be a cute couple, if it weren't that he wouldn't have been Katsumi's type. At all.

"Hey at least this time I opened the door first," Jo cracked a grin and Takami laughed. The latter stood and grabbed to glasses, pulling open the fridge to find some cold water. Katsumi was shaking her head, trying not to laugh as well because she was meant to be angry, but the sight of Jo throwing a creep through a closed door, leaving it splintered and broken in her wake, was a pretty funny memory to picture.

"Well, as I told Takami, you Iwozuka's have caused be a bit of trouble."

"Why, what did we do?"

"Well, you threw my reserve point guard out the door, Meyer pissed off my centre and two more of my reserves and Ishimura turned Takao into a woman," Katsumi replied as she turned to look at Jo. Jo let her words bounce around in her before she broke out into laughter, trying to imagine what Ishimura had done to Takao exactly. She wasn't the kind of person to do anything like that at all.

"Is she your type now?" Jo teased as Takami put a glass of water down in front of her. Otsubo broke into their conversation with a hiccup, a lurch that was louder than the last and that ended with a sob. Takami grimaced and Jo shook her head. He must have felt like absolute shit. Katsumi kissed the back of his head, continuing to rub his back.

"No, but she is very pretty," Katsumi laughed when Otsubo was breathing deeply again. Jo laughed, seeing what Ishimura had done to Takao was definitely going to be on her list of things when everyone started to wake up properly. "Out of curiosity, has anyone seen Hotaru up yet?"

"She was upstairs with Imayoshi, I think she might have been having a shower."

"Oh really, what for?" Jo frowned as she looked from Miyaji to Takami. She started to drink the water, glancing over to Otsubo with pity. At least the poor bugger was over the sink and hadn't decided to vomit all over the place.

"She wasn't in there when I talked to Imayoshi, but, well..."

"Well what?"

"Imayoshi was naked when I went in."

"How naked?" Jo wasn't surprised that Katsumi asked, Takami's version of naked included underwear. She closed her eyes, the sun starting to hurt her head and slowly drank the water, letting the liquid fill her mouth. She found pleasure in feeling the coldness slip down her throat and chest, the memory of the burn of Shira's vodka still a bit fresh in her mind.

"I saw his dick." Jo started joking. She lurched forward, slamming the glass on the table and put her hand over her chest, spluttering and laughing. It wasn't what she said, it was the dead panned voice verging on horror that made Jo react so violently. She was still choking when she looked to Takami, grinning a little.

"And - cough- how'd that - cough - go for you?"

"Well it wasn't pretty, I don't really want to see another one." Jo started to howl with laughter and even Katsumi cracked a smile. Takami's face remained dead panned, even though Jo could see the corners of lips twitching as she fought back laughter. Otsubo grunted, turning around and running a hand through his hair.

"Well, to be fair I don't want to see one either," he laughed before groaning and clutching his head. Katsumi's smile turned into a laugh and his comment only fuelled Jo's laughter even more. Their laughter woke up Miyaji, who promptly pulled his thumb from his mouth and sat up, looking around confused.

"What are we laughing at?"

"Takami saw her first dick and it's scarred her for life," Katsumi answered as she calmed herself down. Jo had stopped laughing as well, groaning and letting her forehead rest on the cool wood of the table as she clutched the back of her head with both hands. Miyaji looked confused for a second before shrugging, staggering to his feet. "And before you disappear, why is there a pineapple in my backyard?"

"It was returning to nature," Miyaji mumbled before he walked out of the kitchen. Attempt would have been a better word, he headbutted the door and fumbled for the handle, all but falling through.

"He had a pineapple when he came to truth or dare."

"Let's not discuss Miyaji's pineapple."

"Yeah I thought we were talking about Imayoshi's," Otsubo cut in, fluttering his eyelashes and trying to make his voice higher than usual. It didn't work very well but the effect he was going for succeeded. Jo cracked up into laughter again and Takami and Katsumi even started to giggle. He grinned happily but then groaned, clutching his head again.


	22. Shutoku Party : Ishimura

Ishimura woke up knowing that she was not alone in the bed. She knew this before she even opened her eyes. She could smell cologne wafting in her nose, could feel fabric clutched tight in her fingers in front of her, could feel strong arms wrapped around her and holding her tightly. She could feel the light breaths fanning her hair and tickling her skin and, most importantly, she knew the person was male because there was a morning surprise pressing against her thigh.

It wasn't the fact that she could only remember bits and pieces of the night before that worried her, nor was it the fact that her stomach was churning and she could still smell vodka through her nose. It wasn't even that her limbs and body in general felt so heavy that she couldn't move them, let alone open her eyes to see who was in front of her, or the mystery guy lying in front of her. What she was most worried about was how the fuck was she going to explain this to the girls without Shira being a twat.

Ishimura had to actually think an order to open her eyes and when she did, she found tht she had snuggled in quite closely to the crook of a neck and shoulder. She couldn't really see anything, but she saw that his skin was light, so that cut out a few of the males that had attended the party last night.

There was a few minutes before the rest of her body decided to agree to pull away. Granted that was probably due to her not entirely wanting to, she was quite comfortable how she had been lying. She knew immediately who she had cuddled up to as soon as she caught sight of the hair. After all, who else did she know that had emerald hair?

Ishimura felt the urge to sink back into how she was laying before, to nuzzle back into his neck and fall asleep again, but she had a feeling that all the other girls were awake by this point. She continued pulling back and, thankfully, Midorima didn't stir. She used her elbows to sit herself up and she looked around the room, frowning. Then she caught sight of Takao lying, still fast asleep, over by the wardrobe.

Her hand flew to her mouth so hard to stop her from laughing that she wouldn't be surprised if it was bruised. She stared at him as her breath became ragged from repressed laughter, hitting Midorima's arm at the same time. He groaned in his sleep before opening his eyes. He frowned at Ishimura and opened his mouth to say something but her hand clamped over his mouth.

"Takao," she squeaked, pointing to Takao with the hand that had been over her own mouth. Midorima followed her gaze and groaned, pulling her hand away from him.

"Yes, you were quite adament about that dress."

"I did what now?" Ishimura asked, looking between Midorima and Takao. The latter was wearing a floral dress that fell to just above his knees, and which was quite loose around his chest. That wasn't what had made Ishimura almost lose it though. His eyes were decorated with a light layer of eyeliner, his lashes coated in mascara and his skin covered in foundation. His cheeks were printed pink from blush and his lips a dark red. His hair had been braided through the middle and the parts that were too short were pinned back with bobby pins. Nothing compared to the sky high, black, almost hooker shoes he was wearing though. Where the hell did they find them?

"You did that. Last night, after Takao finished that ridiculous game," Midorima answered, rolling onto his back and rubbing his eyes. He let out a grumble and looked like he was about to fall asleep. Ishimura, thinking back to the night, did have some recollection of saying how Takao would make a pretty woman. She was about to question the matter further before she looked to him. With a tilt of her head, she frowned as she moved closer, looking at his eyelashes.

"Hey, Carrot-Chan."

"What?" Midorima didn't open his eyes but his cheeks went a little a red because she was so close. There was no way he wouldn't be able to sense her face was this close.

"You're eyelashes are really pretty." Midorima's eyes flashed open, looking slightly startled at her being right in front of him. He didn't pull back though. Ishimura bit her lower lip. "Your eyes are too."

"Th-that's... we should wake Takao up so he can wash his face," Midorima mumbled, moving his hand up to where his glasses should be. Ishimura let out a laugh at his startled expression when he found he wasn't wearing them, falling back on the bed with her knees in the air. Thank the heavens she had decided to wear jeans instead of a dress, otherwise Midorima would have gotten an eyeful.

"W-what's so funny?" Ishimura rolled onto her stomach, rolling onto Midorima's legs in the process, and grinned at the sleepy eyed Takao. He didn't seem to register that he was wearing a dress, let alone the make up and the shoes. He frowned, looking to Midorima and Ishimura.

"Takao, take a look in the mirror there," Ishimura giggled, pointing to the mirror hanging on the wall just to the right of Takao. The teen did, and Ishimura saw his eyes grow wide. Then he cracked into a hysterical laughing fit, which in turn caused Ishimura to burst into laughter and rolled around on the bed, almost falling off. Takao climbed to his feet, very gingerly because of his heels, and turned so his back was facing Ishimura and Midorima.

"Hey Shin-Chan, does my butt look big in this?" Takao chirped with an easy grin, bending his knees and pulling the dress tight around his ass. Ishimura fell off the bed, sobbing at Midorima's expression as much as Takao's actions. She saw a pillow fling through the air and hit Takao in the back of the head, making him stumble slightly.

"Your ass looks great, and you look beautiful!"

"Boys aren't meant to be beautiful," Midorima scowled from the bed as Ishimura sat on her knees, rubbing her side where she landed. Takao half heartedly threw the pillow back, not as hard as Midorima had thrown it.

"You're right. Takao is damn gorgeous!" Ishimura cheered and Takao flashed her the peace sign with an incredibly cheesy smile.

"Where's Katsumi? I'm going to go tell her I'm her new girlfriend!" Takao cheered as he stumbled to the door, wrenching it open. Ishimura was slightly worried about the boy trying to walk down the stairs, but figured that he would be fine. He would probably just bounce if he fell anyway. Ishimura let out another chuckle as she turned to Midorima, who was staring at the door like he couldn't believe his friend had accepted the situation so easily.

"Hey Carrot-Chan?"

"What." Midorima had fallen back onto his back and was staring up at the roof like he couldn't believe his life. Ishimura scuttled closed to the edge of the bed so she was mostly out of sight and poked her head over the side of the mattress so only her eyes and above were showing. Midorima eventually looked over after not hearing her continue and stared at her for a few minutes, his eyebrow's furrowed together in complete confusion. Ishimura blinked twice and saw the corners of his lips twitch as he looked back up at the roof. "Idiot."

"Flying idiot."

"Flyin - what are you talkin - aah!" Midorima let out a yelp when Ishimura sprung off the floor and belly flopped over his abdomen. He let out a groan and Ishimura sat up, laughing while clutching her stomach. That hurt her just as much as it had hurt him.

"S-s-sorry, I c-c-couldn't he-help it!" Ishimura snorted, curling over and letting her forehead rest on Midorima's abdomen as she continued to giggle. Midorima sniffed, rolling over onto his stomach and trying to ignore her. Ishimura rolled her eyes, moving to sit on his lower back and started prodding his back. "Come on, I'm sorry. Don't get grumpy. I saw you smile."

"I did not smile," Midorima huffed but it was muffled by the pillow. Ishimura guessed what he had said anyway, and continued prodding his back until he looked back. He didn't, just dug his face further into the pillow. Ishimura groaned and rolled off him, stretching her back as she did.

"Well if you're going to be mister grumpy butt, I'm going to find Takao. At least he knows how to have a good time," Ishimura huffed as she strode to the door. Despite how much she had drunk the night before, she didn't feel horrible like she had expected to. She was about to turn the door handle when she heard a noise from behind her. Midorima had sat up, was leaning on his elbow and - no way he couldn't possibly be pouting.

"What's so good about Takao?" she could have heard him mutter but Ishimura convinced herself that she must have misheard. She let her hand drop from the handle and walked back over to the bed, sitting on the edge.

"What are you sulking about?"

"I do not sulk."

"Uh - huh," Ishimura shook her head before reaching out. She gently patted the top of Midorima's head, getting a glower in return. She just laughed at him before lying down, resting her head on his thigh. She was mildly curious as to whether that morning surprise had gone down, but when she saw his Adams Apple bob up and down as he swallowed, she had a feeling it wasn't gone completely. "You just brood."

Midorima clicked his tongue but he didn't move. Ishimura shrugged, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh. She really wanted to remember most of what happened the night before and she started racking her memories for a hint. She could remember turning up to the house with the girls in tow, Saka telling them she would come later with Kazuki (this had emitted in a series of inappropriate comments shouted down the phone by Shira) and then she separated from the group to hang out with Otsubo and Miyaji, challenging them to a drinking game. She won, unsurprisingly, and then Takao rocked up to the house with Midorima in tow. Takao was already a little bit inebriated, and Shira challenged him to a game of beer pong after stashing her make up bag in the room that Ishimura had slept in.

...

_"Three points to Iwozuka!" Shira cheered loudly and Ishimura felt Takao wince as he reached for his drink. He plucked the ping pong ball out of the dark liquid and chugged the cup down, grimacing as he set it down on the table. Ishimura's hand was on his back, attempting to help him keep steady and she noticed Jo pushing Midorima, who were standing on the sidelines watching game, backwards a little. Takao's arm was around Ishimura's shoulders, attempting to help himself stay steady so he could take a shot. _

_"Come on Takao, you can do it!" Ishimura egged Takao on, watching as the point guard lined up his shot. He missed completely and Shira caught the ball with surprising dexterity. She was lining up the shot when Takao's fingers gripped tight on the back of Ishimura's shirt. She could feel him swaying back and she readjusted how she was holding him, keeping him upright. _

_"Come on Shira, show him how Iwozuka does it!" Saka cheered happily. Ishimura wondered if the alcohol had anything to do with her sudden bout of courage or if the fact Kazuki was standing behind her protectively, one hand on her shoulder._

_Shira lined up Takao's cup and sent the ball soaring forward. Ishimura and Takao both held their breaths as the ball rimmed the edge before falling into the drink with a plop. Takao groaned as Shira jumped into the air, almost kneeing the table, and letting out a loud whoop. Ishimura wished she had, because then her drinks would have been spilt. _

_"Rules are you drink mine too!" The words chilled Ishimura's spine as she looked to Takao. There was no way he was going to survive her drinks after he finished off his last bout of alcohol. He looked like he was about to pass out and he was starting to lean heavily on Ishimura. _

_"Come on Shira, he's about to fall just from his Jacks!" Ishimura growled, fully prepared to step forward herself to take his place as Shira started to shake her head. There was no way Ishimura was going to let Takao drink any more in general, but if that meant she was going to have to drink Shira's alcohol then that would be a problem. Meyer made her swear never to touch vodka again. _

_"Give them here, I'll drink them instead." Ishimura never thought she would imagine Jo was some sort of super hero, but at the moment she could have sworn there was a bright light surrounding their centre. It was most likely just the luminescent light fixtures of the room but that was beside the point. Ishimura smiled at her gratefully._

_"That's not the rules though!" Shira was protesting to no one in particular and it was too late anyway. Jo was throwing down the remaining drinks like it was nothing and grimaced when she had finished. Ishimura had to readjust how she was holding Takao again, because he was leaning his head on her shoulder and pretty much using her to support himself. She didn't doubt if she stepped away he would just fall to the ground and not get back up. _

_"I feel like crap," Takao mumbled under his breath and Ishimura reached up, petting his hair sympathetically. She had warned him not to play Shira, but he had been too damn optimistic for his own good. She doubted he would be trying it again. Ishimura saw Jo slip out of the room just as another walked in. Ishimura grimaced, dragging Takao out of the way of the table. _

_"I'll play you," Aomine Daiki grinned and Shira's ears seemed to prick up upon hearing his voice. She whipped around, managed to hide the stumble, and leant against the table, one palm firm on the wood. _

_"Oh sweet heart, this is a lot harder than basketball," Shira teased, tilting her head to the side. Ishimura groaned again, reaching up and tugging Midorima's sleeve. _

_"We do not want to be here, she's flirting," Ishimura hissed under her breath. Midorima frowned, looking between Shira and Aomine, who was pouring his own drinks from cans into fresh cups, and back to where Ishimura had been standing. Had being the important word. Ishimura walked through the hall, dragging Takao behind her in an attempt to get away from the kitchen. _

_"Where're we going?" Takao mumbled as he hugged Ishimura from behind, hindering their progress. Ishimura shrugged, feeling him rest his forehead on her back and letting out a sigh. Ishimura caught sight of him in the mirror and realised that, for a guy, he was actually kind of pretty. "Thank you Ishi-Chan."_

_"Oh, did I say that out loud?" Ishimura laughed and then she had a bright idea. Well, at the time it seemed like a bright idea. She looked over her shoulder, only seeing a tuft of raven hair poking up. "Hey Takao, what if I made you really pretty?"_

_"Yeah?" Takao looked up at her, blinking and grinning quite happily. Social normalties flew out the window from that point forward. Ishimura grinned, nodding her head quite furiously as she turned and grabbed his hands in hers. _

_"Yeah, come on, I'm sure Katsumi has make up and a pretty dress that will fit you!"_

_"Yay!" Takao cheered, though it might have been her tone of voice more than her actual words that made him excited. She pulled his arms from around her waist, gripping his wrist tightly and began dragging him to the stairs. _

_"Grumpy-San, Grumpy-San! Come back! Do not, I repeat do not... no dresses!" Ishimura could hear Midorima half yelling, half pleading behind her as she breezed past a confused looking Meyer. She didn't pay her captain any attention as she dragged Takao, who was happily humming and singing to himself, up the stairs and into the room on the right. _

_Takao plopped happily onto the bed, swaying from side to side as Ishimura ripped the wardrobe doors open just as the bedroom door opened. Midorima looked quite flustered as he walked to Takao, grabbing his friends wrist. _

_"Hey Shin-Chan, Ishi-Chan's going to make me pretty!"_

_"Absolutely not, this is ridiculous, you cannot..." Midorima was cut off when Takao let out a loud wail. His eyes scrunched tight as tears formed in the corners and Midorima pulled away, completely horrified. Even Ishimura paused her search for a pretty dress to stare at a now sobbing Takao, who was hugging his knees and rocking slightly. _

_"Aww, Takao, was the carrot mean to you?" Ishimura purred as she walked over, running her fingers through his hair. Takao turned and buried his face into her abdomen, wrapping his arms around her waist and continued sobbing. Ishimura bit back a laugh at the situation and looked up to Midorima as she wrapped her arms around the sobbing teen. "He's such a mean carrot."_

_"This is prepostous, it's unfair, it's..."_

_"Ugh, you're such a stiff," Ishimura shook her head as she pulled Takao away. He sniffed, looking up to her in glazed, drunken yet hopeful eyes. She smiled comfortingly, like she would to Satoshi or to Gou, continuing to run her fingers through his hair. She knelt down so she was eye level, moving the hand that was in his hair to gently pat his cheek. "Don't listen to the carrot, he's an idiot. I'll make you pretty."_

_"Promise?"_

_"Promise," Ishimura grinned, holding her pinky finger out. Takao stopped sobbing and linked his own pinky around hers, grinning quite happily. Ishimura returned to the wardrobe as Midorima just stared at her with a rather horrified expression. She ignored him, grabbing out a pretty sundress and holding it. "Put this on Takao."_

_Takao stood, yanking his shirt over his head and happily skipping (well at least he attempted, he was tripping over his own feet) over to Ishimura. He took the dress off her and pulled it on over his head, turning to Midorima when he had it fitted. It was incredibly loose around the chest but Takao didn't seem to care all that much. He hiked the front of the dress up and undid his jeans, pulling them down and kicking them off. He let the dress fall as he twirled around on spot. _

_"Do I look pretty Shin-Chan?" _

_"This is ridiculous," Midorima muttered, probably not meaning for Takao to hear but he did. The latter stopped spinning (which was probably a good thing) and looke dlike he was about to start crying again. Ishimura acted fast, letting out a laugh and putting her arm around Takao, glaring at Midorima. _

_"Midorima's right Takao, you should have some make up on!" Ishimura cheered as she dashed to where Shira's bag had been stashed for the night. Takao was sitting back on the bed, happily humming as Ishimura walked back over to him. She pulled Shira's foundation out and started wiping it on Takao's face, being careful not to use too much. Ishimura grinned, this was not the first time she had drunkenly applied make up to another. _

_Takao was grinning like the chescher cat, his eyes closed obediently as he gently swayed from side to side. She pulled out eyeliner next, which Midorima promptly snatched from her hands with a shake of his head. Ishimura tried to grab it off him but he held it above his head. _

_"If you think I am going to let you..."_

_"Fine, you do it."_

_"That's, that's..."_

_"Preposterous, I know. So either do it, or hand it over to me," Ishimura mumbled, holding her hand out. She had to admit, those shots she'd taken with Shira just before beer pong were starting to affect her slightly. Midorima sighed, stepping around Ishimura and grabbing Takao's chin. "Just put a gentle line there."_

_"This is ridiculous," Midorima muttered under his breath as he carefully drew the eyeliner where Ishimura had instructed. She couldn't help but note how steady his hand was and made a mental note to get his number so he could put eyeliner on her from now on. Midorima finished quickly, placing the eyeliner into the bag just after Ishimura pulled out the lipstick. _

_"Open your mouth Takao!" Ishimura grinned. Takao did as instructed and she carefully coated his lips with lipstick. She could practically feel Midorima wanting to comment how completely unsanitary all of this was but she would have told him to shut up anyway. Takao looked like he was enjoying himself and Ishimura couldn't help but grin at him. He was so much like her little brothers. "Mascara next! Midorima!"_

_"Why did Oha Asa not warn me about you?" Midorima muttered under his breath as he obliged Ishimura. He pulled out the mascara, made a funny face before looking to Ishimura confused. She stepped behind him, lenaing forward as she wrapped her fingers around his hands, relying on him to keep it steady. The position made her chin sit on his shoulder and she brought his hand to the roots of Takao's eyelashes, slowly dragging it back up. She left him to do the other as she picked up blush, turning it over in her hands as she tried to figure out how to open the compact. _

_She fumbled with the compact, frowning and muttering profanities and considered banging it on the headboard, until Midorima's hand enclosed over her own. She froze, feeling his breath travelling down her neck as his other hand reached forward, pulling the compact open. Ishimura frowned as she noticed, for the first time that night, that his fingers were taped up on his left hand. _

_Ishimura didn't say anything, just stepped around Midorima and pulled the puffy brush from the bag. She never bothered to learn it's proper name anyway. She worked without another word, gently applying the blush to Takao's cheeks, who was still smiling happily. _

_"There," Ishimura croaked, "aren't you a pretty boy Takao?"_

_"Shin-Chan, am I pretty?" Takao questioned, not quite listening to Ishimura. Midorima sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose as he nodded curtly. _

_"You are beautiful," Midorima smiled and Ishimura cracked into laughter at how sincere he sounded. Obviously she was louder than she thought, because the door opened and Meyer stepped in. She looked to Ishimura, about to aska question, when her eyes drifted to Takao. Meyer doubled over with laughter as soon as it registered in her mind and then she shut the door, still giggling to herself on the otherside._

_"You said I was pretty, I'm not pretty!" Takao started to whine and Ishimura grabbed his arm. She gave him a kissed on the forehead and grinned at him like she would when her brothers were complaining about anything that she could fix. _

_"Meyer just laughed because you're so pretty she didn't expect it Takao."_

_"I'll go show everyone how pretty I am!" Takao either ignored her or Ishimura's comment just registered very briefly in his mind. He pulled out of her grip and stood, before either of them could grab him, made for the door. He flung it open and stumbled through, wrenching it shut behind him. Midorima leapt forward, about to chase after him but Ishimura grabbed his hand, yanking him back. _

_The motion made them both fall onto the bed, Midorima pinning Ishimura down on the mattress. The very confused and slightly horrified expression he held only made Ishimura laugh, even moreso when he struggled to right himself. He pulled back, almost falling back down by how far onto the mattress they had fallen, and straightened his shirt, looking over his shoulder. _

_"Let him go, he'll have a blast. And if anyone tries to fondle _her_, they'll get a surprise," Ishimura grinned. Midorima looked very unsure of what he should do, and then he had a slightly guilty expression has his shoulders sagged in resignation. He looked to Ishimura, who reached out to his left hand and grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand towards her. Her strength must have caught him off guard because he leant down. "What happened to your fingers? Why are they taped up?"_

_"N-nothing happened, they just..." Midorima trailed off when Ishimura dragged her lips across his knuckles. She heard his breath catch in his throat and she looked up to him, frowning. His cheeks were a little pink. Why was he embarassed? _

_"I was just kissing them better," Ishimura pouted when Midorima wrenched his hand away, staring at it like it was some foreign object to him now. Ishimura tilted her head, blinking up at him and frowning again. She knelt on the bed, stretching up and grasping his glasses, pulling them from his face. Midorima's cheeks flushed a shade pinker as she stared into his eyes, still frowning lightly. _

_"W-what a-are you doing?" _

_"You're eyes are really pretty Carrot-Chan." At his nickname he scowled, trying to get the glasses back. Ordinarily Ishimura would have handed them over, she knew how irritating it was for people to hold them even if it was slightly irritation, but she'd had a bit to drink and it honestly brought out the worst in her personality. Namely, she pulled her hand back and refused to let him have them._

_"Grumpy-San, I will not play this game with you."_

_"Fine," Ishimura shrugged as she put his glasses on. She blinked to adjust to the magnification and then looked up to him. He was staring back at her with his mouth opened slightly and she just grinned. "Mine now."_

_"Give them back."_

_"No."_

_"I said give them back."_

_"No."_

_"Give them to me!" Midorima lunged forward but Ishimura crawled back along the mattress. He grabbed her belt and pulled her back, trying to lean forward and snatched the glasses of her. Ishimura moved faster, wrenching the frames from her face and holding them back over her head. Midorima muttered something under his breath, yanking her towards him by her belt and stretching for his glasses. Ishimura glanced for a moment from what was in her hand upwards._

_Midorima's neck was just in front of her eyesight,his Adams Apple bobbing slightly as he stretched and all Ishimura could think was that it looked perfect to nibble on. Normally, Ishimura would push all thoughts like that out of her head for reason. At that moment, she had none. Midorima lunged forward, snatching the glasses out of her hands but Ishimura didn't care. As he did so she arched her back, lifting herself up and her lips connected with his neck. Midorima made a choking noise as she dragged her teeth across the thin skin and her arms wrapped around him. _

...

Ishimura opened her eyes, staring lazily back up to Midorima. He was looking back at her slightly confused. Without a word she sat up, and then with a look at him that completely changed his expression, she swung her leg over so she was sitting on his lap. Midorima was about to demand what she was doing, no doubt, but she smacked her hands against the headboard either side of his head. Without warning she leant in, her lips catching his Adam's Apple like she did last night, only this time Midorima let out a groan, tilting his head back. Just as she thought. Ishimura pulled back, her face centimetres away from Midorima's and he had a musty, far away look in his eye as he looked back at her.

"You're going to have to show me everything that happened last night after I did that." Ishimura wondered if Midorima could pick up how her voice was a little hoarser than usual, or the surprise look she had in her eye because she honestly hadn't meant to say anything along those lines. She was also surprised when she felt his fingers weave through her hair and pull her closer, his mouth crashing against her lips.


	23. Days After Party

"Okay, can we all agree that last night was a pretty good night?" Jo grinned as she walked beside Ishimura, who was looking rather cheerful. No one had mentioned the slight trace of a hickey poking out of her collar, not when Ishimura had a rather nice one sitting smack bam on the side of her neck. This wasn't slight either, it was dark and purpling and was going to bruise something nasty. When Meyer brought it up Shira had scowled, rubbing at it and blaming Aomine for being an idiot. Ishimura announced she probably deserved it, earning a high five from the captain.

"I would agree, if I could remember more," Shira shrugged. Meyer pursed her lips to try and stop her laughter from escaping. Only Takami saw and made sure to remind herself exactly what Meyer had seen Shira doing that would earn her that smirk.

"Yeah, shame you missed out on Takao though."

"And his strip tease, Katsumi looked horrified," Takami added with a laugh. Jo leant forward and punched her shoulder, grinning.

"Hey, she wasn't the only one."

"It didn't help that Otsubo put money down his underwear," Meyer laughed. Shira scowled, genuinely annoyed that she had missed out on seeing that. No one had told her that Ishimura hadn't seen it either, but they had a speculation she had been doing something far more interesting.

"So let's get this list down. One, Takami walked in on Imayoshi naked. Two, Takami saw a strip tease. Three, Otsubo offered to do one as well and added a wink in her direction, what does this tell us?" Jo cackled, moving up and wrapping her arm around Takami's neck. Takami spat her tongue out, shaking her head furiously. Everyone knew that Otsubo had been joking when he'd offered, made obvious when Takao had forced a mock horror and muttered how that was meant for the Shutoku boys eyes only.

"That I need to stick with Takami more."

"I would have said that Otsubo was still drunk," Ishimura laughed. Shira looked over her shoulder, grinning slightly to Ishimura.

"And dear Yuki, what were you doing during this festivity huh?" Ishimura's cheeks blazed slightly red and she looked away, scowling. Meyer knocked Shira's arm, shaking her head slightly but Takami looked up to Shira, grinning mischeviously. Obviously she'd made the assumption off Ishimura's lack of input in that conversation and the red mark.

"Says the girl who disappeared with Aomine all night."

"Yeah, what exactly happened?"

"No idea, can't remember."

"Ugh, that's boring," Jo scolded but her eyes furrowed slightly, thinking back to Aomine that morning. He looked genuinely pissed off, so Shira must have said or done something she couldn't remember, and then completely turned around on the head when she had woken up.

"Are we all forgetting one important person right now?" Takami questioned, coming to a complete stop. The girls frowned, stopping on the side walk as well and looking back to her with slightly blank expressions. Takami raised one eyebrow, looking between them, waiting for them to realise who had been absent that morning. Meyer realised it first, looking around the group and her mouth falling open with a pop.

"The fuck is Saka?"

"Someone call Kazuki!"

"She went home with him."

"Better fucking not have!" Their voices fell into a mix of each other as Meyer scrambled for her mobile. Jo looked like she was about ready laugh her ass off while Shira and Ishimura looked genuinely impressed. Takami just pulled her own phone out, getting Saka's phone number up just in case. Meyer's phone was at her ear. She pulled it away after a few moments, shaking her head as she looked to Takami hopefully.

"Her mobiles off."

"His rang out."

"Oh, someone got laid," Ishimura cheered only to be hit on the back of the head by Shira. "No need to get stroppy just because you didn't!" Shira looked like she was about to hit Ishimura again but Jo grabbed the latters shoulders, pulling her back and out of Shira's line of sight. Shira scowled, crossing her arms across her chest and shaking her head.

"I could have if I wanted to."

"Sure sure."

"What about you, don't think we haven't all noticed that!" Shira proclaimed as she pointed to Ishimura's collar. The latter shrunk back slightly, her cheeks reddening, her eyes widening as she tried to think of something. No one even wanted Shira to know what they had done, because Shira never really forgot. Ishimura caught Meyer's eye and the captain sighed, elbowing Shira in the ribs lightly.

"Come now, let's all stop being idiots and..."

"Oh, I haven't even started on you with your cuddle partner!"

"Actually she has a point Meyer, you were hanging around with Kagami _all night_," Jo teased. Ishimura's blush dissipated and the blood seemed to flow into Meyer's cheeks instead. She shook her head, biting back her tongue as she started walking a little faster than usual.

"It wasn't _all _night."

"And then cuddling on the couch, all snug like," Takami joined in, shoving Meyer's shoulder lightly. The Captain scowled, shaking her head before turning on her heels, ready to yell at her team for being idiots.

"Talking in English so not many people could understand! That's very cheeky captain!"

"Were you talking about," Shira leapt forward, grabbing the tops of Meyer's arms and pulling her close, their faces only centimetres apart. Shira looked very serious and Meyer was preparing herself to headbutt the Power Forward for whatever stupid comment she was about to make. "Dirty things?"

"I'm going to kill you all."

"Yeah well, you're going to have to get in line for Shira. Pretty sure Aomine's getting ready to draw blood by the stink face he pulled when he left," Jo grunted, pulling Shira back and gently pushing Meyer to keep walking. Shira scowled again and Ishimura looked genuinely surprised.

"Wait, what happened? I missed this."

"Because you were making out," Takami coughed, dodging Ishimura's wayward smack and skipping ahead. Shira looked like she didn't want to talk about it, but the look on Meyer's said she would. Their Captain scratched the back of her head, delivering a shit eating grin to the power forward before loudly clearing her throat.

"You held him up against a wall last night sticking your tongue down his throat before dragging him into a bedroom."

"I did what now?" Shira coughed as Ishimura and Jo both let out a low 'ooh', whilst Takami let out a whoop, punching the air. Meyer grinned, looking between her friends before looking back at Shira, almost daring her to say something else. Shira scowled, wondering what Aomine had lied about before her blood ran cold, taking into consideration that just because her pants had remained on and unloosened didn't mean his hadn't. She felt the colour drain from her face.

"And you," Meyer continued, jabbing her finger into Ishimura's shoulder, "you have a lot of explaining about Kuroko."

"I did something to Kuroko?"

"What? No, no, I mean the whole 'Tets' thing. When exactly did you get comfortable enough to call him that? Remind me."

"Hey, I didn't break any rules, I wasn't hanging out with Seirin and I never organised to ever meet Kuroko. I'd just into him on my runs and help him train for a bit, that's all," Ishimura replied, putting her hands up in the air. Meyer contemplated her answer before shrugging her shoulders. She hadn't wanted to annoy Riko any more than they already had, but if Ishimura was just helping Kuroko train outside of Seirin's scheduled hours then she couldn't give two shits. "Who told you, anyway?"

"Kagami."

"I'd ask but I know you wouldn't have done anything interesting. Shira on the other hand looks like she's seen a ghost, so you got to spill," Jo pushed. All eyes turned onto Shira, who's colouring looked even worse than her earlier epiphany, shaking her head furiously before tugging on a loose strand of hair.

"Hey I already said I don't remember anything."

"Yeah but I bet Aomine does," Takami laughed and Jo's eyes practically sparkled. Shira didn't get a chance to ask what was going on because she was suddenly greeted by the bread Katsumi had all but forced down her throat after she had returned to the kitchen. She ran down the street, in search of a garbage bin (which luckily she managed to find) and promptly buried her head inside as she expelled everything in her stomach. She was ninety percent sure that the vomiting hadn't been induced by the alcohol and instead with possibility of her doing something with Aomine that may have constituted why he reacted so badly to her teasing.

"I hope that wasn't because you remembered what you - ow fuck Jo, I think you broke my skull!" Shira ignored Ishimura yelling after her and closed her eyes. She begged her mind to tell what happened the night before, but nothing was popping up. Grimacing slightly she turned around, looking at her friends who were rushing towards her.

"I have a feeling I did something I shouldn't have."

...

Takami sat on the bench, watching as Ishimura dribbled the ball along the ground. It had been three days since the party and Meyer had sent the pair to train on the street court by Ishimura's house whilst Meyer worked closely with Jo's defense. Shira hadn't been able to stay behind to train, instead having to go to her mums work and help out. Nothing more had been said about the party, well not around her in any case, although Takami had managed to worm a bit of information about Saka's night. Despite what they had all thought, the teen had in fact _not _gone home with Kazuki, the highschooler instead walking Saka home and then leaving her. This of course earned brownie points from the centre, who had promptly reminded Shira about how she had failed the dare.

"Hey Ishimura," Takami called as she dropped her phone onto the bench. Ishimura glanced to her for a moment, dodging an invisibile adversary before shooting for the hoop. She managed to get it in and collected it from where it was bouncing under the hoop. She jogged over to Takami, continuing to dribble as she did so.

"You want to get up your ass and start training?"

"Something like that." Takami stood, holding her hands out. Ishimura rolled her eyes as she pushed the ball forward, the sound of flesh hitting leather echoing in their ears. Takami dribbled around Ishimura, lazily strolling towards the middle of the court and turning suddenly, shooting to the opposite end that Ishimura had been.

"Show off."

"If you hadn't skipped out during middle school you would be able to do it too," Takami said as she let out a laugh. Ishimura rolled her eyes as she rushed forward, scooping the ball from the ground and spinning on her heel, sending it back to the shooter. Takami stuck one hand out, catching the ball and without taking a moment to aim, she shot again. The shot was nearly perfect, it hit the back of the rim before bouncing into the net. Ishimura grabbed it before it could hit the ground, passing it off like it was on fire and she couldn't hold it any more.

"I didn't skip out in middle school, I just didn't see the point in all of us being able to shoot," Ishimura snapped. Takami tilted her head to the side as she caught the ball easily, frowning a little. The motions they were going through were just that, motions they had become used to over the years. In a way, she doubted they even tried anymore, not unless they were up against Katsumi. "Besides, I was out when Meyer decided to start training for it."

"Does it act up still?" Takami questioned. Ishimura hesitated before rubbing her right wrist, shaking her head.

"Not so much any more, but I still want to kill her."

"You shouldn't have let her egg you on." Ishimura scowled, motioning for Takami to take a shot. Takami rolled her eyes, thinking to the constantly growing feud between Ishimura and Hotaru. They all knew, in middle school, that one day it would come to a head, but they never considered the consequences. In the second year of middle school they played Hotaru's team as one of their first matches. There had been no love lost between the pair before, but the tension grew worse when just before half time Hotaru passed the ball off, purposefully hitting a sprinting Ishimura in the knee and sending her to the ground. Ishimura fractured her wrist and was forced to leave the court, partly because of her injury and partly because she had punched Hotaru so hard in the face that the latter had been knocked out. "I could teach you, if you want."

"No need, not like we're short shooters. Besides, I like what I do," Ishimura grinned. Takami grinned back, bouncing the ball gently on the ground before tilting her head slightly.

"If you don't mind me asking Ishimura, what happened with you and Midorima?" Ishimura's cheeks flared slightly as she tilted her head, raising both of her eyebrows. Out of all the girls, Takami was the one who discovered most about the others. Even though Shira was her best friend, Ishimura wouldn't risk telling her everything. There were some things that she didn't know how to handle and that would result in sarcastic and snide comments more often than not.

"It's not like you to ask."

"It's not like you to avoid an answer."

"I thought you didn't use your 'gift' on us."

"Never thought everyone would shut off to the point I would have to," Takami shrugged. She bent her knees slightly, leaping into the air and straightening her whole body. Ishimura felt that swell of pride she always felt when Takami lined herself up mid air, gently sending the ball to the hoop. Ishimura watched the ball soar through the air and sink perfectly into the hoop. Ishimura caught it before jogging over to Takami, dribbling as she did.

"What do you mean everyone? I thought... never mind. Hey, I ever tell you your shots are flawless?"

"You could stand to do it more."

"Shut up."


	24. Girls Match

"Come on Iwozuka, pick it up!" Kazuki shouted from the bench, his fingers clenching at the towel in his hands as he watched the girls play. Saka was next to him, her head in her hands as she watched her team scatter about in an oddball attempt at basketball. None of them were focused in on the game, they all kept looking up to the clock on the scoreboard. Whatever was on their minds was distracting them all from playing. All except Meyer, who was starting to look as irritated with her team as Saka was feeling.

"No half measures Iwozuka, get your ass into gear!" Meyer crowed to her team, glaring at Ishimura who ran past. The small forward didn't look their captain in the eye, instead she trained her focus on the small leather sphere that was travelling up and down the court. It was the third quarter and Iwozuka was down by twenty six points. Although Takami and Meyer's combined efforts would get them to catch up in no time, Shira and Ishimura both were lagging for some reason. This pushed Jo to have to work harder than usual in defence and anyone could tell she was getting way too tired to accept the continuous, and seemingly unchallenged onslaught brought on by Touou's girls.

"What the fuck are they doing?" Saka groaned, smacking her forehead and standing up. She watched as Ishimura missed an interception and then Shira miss the block. If it weren't for Jo, Touou's power forward would have slammed the ball into the hoop. Takami was up near the other end of the court, getting antsy and looking like she was ready to implode by the lack of effort the girls seemed to be putting into the game. It was only Jo's hand on Meyer's shoulder after she sent the ball down the otherside of the court that stopped Meyer from unleashing hell on her team.

"They're too distracted by something, that's what," Kazuki groaned before looking around. They had played perfectly fine in the first two quarters, they were still playing lazily but they never let the score drop by more than two points. Then they come back onto the court and Ishimura and Shira seemed to have jetted off into space.

Ishimura passed the ball forward, Shira snatching it from the air and passing it off quickly to Takami. The shooting guard grabbed it easily, lining up to take a shot when Touou's centre was in front of her, blocking her from passing. Takami groaned and sent the ball back, it headed straight for Ishimura and then _bang_, Ishimura caught the ball with her face. She stumbled back but managed to pick the ball from the ground, holding her face in one hand and ditching the ball with the other. Meyer caught it before it could be intercepted and she jumped into the air, letting the ball fly. It happily fell into the basket and gave them three points, but Meyer looked anything but impressed.

She stomped over to Ishimura, grabbing the collar of her jersey and yanking the small forward down so they were eye level. Ishimura cringed back, wincing at the venomous glare Meyer was delivering to her and she grit her teeth.

"I don't know what the fuck is going on, but if you don't straighten your ass out soon I'm going to be kicking it to kingdom come! And you can forget about going to see Seirin's match against Shutoku if we _don't _win!" Meyer snarled before bolting to the other end of the caught, easily catching up to the small forward of Touou. She snatched the ball away as the opposition dribbled before holding the ball at her hip, asking for a time out. Ishimura cringed, knowing that her pissed off rant was only just beginning. Jo dragged her feet to the bench, flopping down beside Saka, who promptly shoved a water bottle nozzle into her mouth.

"What the fuck is wrong with the lot of you? Have you all lost your brains? Did you hit your head? Fucking act like the basketballers you are!" Takami snarled as she smacked Shira quite hard on the back. Shira turned, about ready to deliver an angry comment when she shrunk back. To say Takami was seething with fury was an understatement. The devil would be more welcome company at that moment. Takami narrowed her eyes at Shira, grabbing her wrist and tugging on it hard. "Pull your fucking head out of the clouds Shira, the way you and Ishimura are playing we're not going to be able to hold on much longer."

"Takami's right, you're fucking leaving me out there in the open and they know it!" Jo growled as she rubbed her calves. Shira crossed her arms over her chest and Ishimura's hadn shot out, covering her mouth before she said anything.

"They're right. We've both been off," Ishimura growled to Shira, stopping her from attempting any sort of protest. She turned to Jo, stretching her hand out and ruffling the centres hair. Jo scowled but understood the sentiment, grinning despite how tired she was. They all knew Jo probably had half a quarter before her legs would grow too tired and she would be risking injury.

"Shira and Ishimura need to stay back in defense with Jo, Ishimura on the centre line and Shira back towards the three pointer. Ishimura stops as many balls as she can from stepping over and if she missed, Shira has her back," Takami said, rubbing her chin with her palm. No one would argue with that plan, all of their eyes flickering to their centre. They were going to need to pull a miracle out of their asses if they wanted to win if Jo went down. "We need to alleviate the pressure off Jo."

"Takami and I will attempt to steal the ball closer to the three point line, but if we can't we'll fall back and rely on our three pointers to get us the victory. This plan will rely on you two being able to focus in on the game," Meyer continued in Takami's place. Shira scowled but nodded her head whilst Ishimura grunted in affirmation. Meyer could already tell that the latter was closing off all thoughts that didn't attain to basketball, but it was unlikely that the problem that was affecting her would be so easy to block out, especially when both Meyer and Ishimura had spotted him sitting three rows from the front during half time. Shira on the otherhand, would be a gamble. She had come into the game only half focused and as she continued, she was dropping back. "We're relying on you two, you know that."

"So no pressure then?" Ishimura grinned as the referee blew his whistle to bring the girls back on the court. Jo immediately returned to her usual place under the hoop, Shira joining her a two metres away. Ishimura settled herself dead on the centre line as Meyer and Takami settled themselves in a position that was fruitful to their respective abilities. Meyer noted that Ishimura's posture was closer to the ground, her knees slightly bent and her shoulders down, like a runner waiting for the starting gun. She knew she could trust her, but Shira still looked off.

...

"Nee, Shin-Chan, why are they playing so badly?" Takao whined as he stretched forward, trying to get a better view of the girls on the court. Midorima remained silent, watching as the girls scattered themselves among the court. It wasn't that the whole team was playing badly, it was that two were and there were no reserves. Shira and Ishimura. Midorima felt his eyebrows pull together as he watched Ishimura settle on the centre line. What were they planning?

"If Shira pulls her head out of her ass, they'll win," Katsumi commented from beside Takao. She was in her uniform, having finished a game just before Iwozuka was scheduled to play against Touou, and she had come just after and joined the boys. Midorima and Takao both looked over to her.

"What about Ishi-Chan? She hasn't been playing well either," Takao frowned and Midorima winced at hearing Ishimura's nickname. It was childish and idiotic, although with that thought it suited Ishimura slightly. Katsumi just snorted, shaking her head and leaning forward so her elbows were on her knees.

"If Shira falls behind on something, then Ishimura seems to follow her. Shira slacks of, Ishimura slacks off even if she doesn't want to. If Shira can't bring herself up to play well, they've lost three players."

"The third being the centre?"

"Because they've slacked off the other three have had to pull the weight and Jo's body can't handle it. It's too much of a strain on her," Katsumi sighed as she tilted her head. If the Queens lost because of such a stupid reason as whatever was on Shira's mind, it would be an insult to every team that has ever lost to them (in reality it would be an insult to Saka as well).

"Meyer-San looks like she is completely relaxed," Midorima said, his eyes shifting off Ishimura to the captain. She was chasing after the ball, her face almost blank as her gaze focused. She looked like this was hardly strenuous at all, but Katsumi's snort suggested otherwise.

"Tori's about to rip Shira to pieces, and Takami will follow her. But if Shira doesn't pick up the slack..."

"Holy shit what was that?" Katsumi jumped slightly at Takao's yelp. She registered that someone must have hit the ball hard, because she heard the sound of flesh hitting leather from where they were sitting. Takao's mouth was hanging open as he stood up along with the rest of the audience, all of them staring at Ishimura. The point guard who had tried to run past her was caught by surprise but Ishimura didn't just take the ball from her. In one easy move Ishimura had pushed her hand forward, sending the ball flying from the centre line straight into Takami's hands. The shooting guard didn't hesitate, jumping up and scoring a three pointer.

"That was..."

"Kuroko's pass," Takao breathed as he sunk back into his seat. It wasn't just Kuroko's pass, it was something different. It was harder, the arm that hit the ball had been stronger, and it wasn't like Ishimura wouldn't have been seen either. Takao hadn't even seen her move. One moment she was in that running starter position and the next her arm was straight out and the ball was in Takami's hands.

"It's a variation of Kuroko's pass," Katsumi snorted, "you're telling me you haven't noticed?"

"Noticed what?"

"The girls have always watched the basketball games of their competitors or of the boys. It was never because they were just interested in the match, they were interested in the plays. More importantly, they were interested in the moves."

"Meyer-San mentioned how I had inspired the team," Midorima murmured. He watched as they didn't fall back as far as initially anticipated. Was Meyer really going to leave the defence to the three players that seemed to be completely out of it? Granted, Ishimura had picked herself up pretty quickly and...

"What the fuck! How did she just score? The ball was right fucking there and then it's not!" Takao crowed as he jumped to his feet again, staring at the interception Shira had just played. This time the ball had been passed by Ishimura, over her head, but the arc had left her open for time to run back, only to be screened by a player. The ball looked like it was going to fall straight into Touou's centre's hands, but Shira had leapt up from behind them, smacking their ball away whilst curving her body so she wouldn't slam into the other player. Ishimura snatched the ball up before passing to Meyer, who in turn passed to a completely free Takami who scored another three pointer. There was only three minutes left on the clock, but if the girls kept playing like they were now then they would surely win.

"The girls are extremely fast at passing and they push the ball pretty hard too."

"They must be extremely focused." Midorima felt his cheeks flush slightly red as Katsumi started cackling. She shook her head, motioning to the Touou's players.

"They grew too comfortable in their seemingly assured victory. It's something they should all know about the girls by now, it's a little embarassing actually."

"What is?" Takao pressed, turning to look at Katsumi with fascination. Katsumi shook her head, leaning back into her chair and putting her hands behind her head. How could she explain it, what was the words Meyer always used? She racked her brain, cursing for the fact that she had heard that stupid thing before she grinned.

"That the game is not won against Iwozuka, even if you're team is fifty points ahead and there's one quarter left, until the final buzzer has sounded and you have more than they," Katsumi shrugged, looking back to Takao. He was staring at the court, watching as Ishimura continuously intercepted anyone who came too close and Shira collected any of the stragglers, effectively allowing Jo to recuperate under the net. "Touou isn't a match for Iwozuka, this is child's play."

...

"Now now, were they just playing with our dear girls?" Imayoshi pondered as he watched Touou quickly lose grip on the lead they had secured themselves. Hotaru let out a snort, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to remember everything she knew about the girls.

"No, Shira was lagging and dragging Ishimura behind with her. Meyer must have rattled their heads around to get them off their asses."

"Hmm? Is that so?"

"I can't stand the team, but I'm not going to say Meyer's not good at what she does," Hotaru sighed, her eyes narrowing as she focused in on Ishimura. No matter what match she saw her playing, she always focused on their annoying small forward. She didn't want to miss the moment when the pressure of the game grew too much and her wrist gave out, sending her out of the game. It would have been preferred this year, considering Saka was not in the school to help them gain the upper hand, but no matter.

"And what does Meyer do?"

"Rule," Hotaru snorted before a hand gripped her shoulder. She looked over, seeing Momoi Satsuki sitting behind her, her eyes narrowed in on the game of the girls. Hotaru was surprised to see her here considering the baby she sat wasn't around.

"They have completely changed, their game style, their tactics, everything," Momoi grumbled, her eyes narrowing as she looked down to the notepad she had on her lap. Hotaru snorted, reaching over and snatching it away from her before Momoi could protest. She flipped through the pages that were focused on Iwozuka and raised her eyebrows.

"Hey this is some pretty good stuff, you have almost everything in here from this game," Hotaru commended as she read down the comments. They had everything, even the small spat Ishimura had at Takami after the latter had sent a ball flying into her stomach just before the first quarter came to an end. Momoi beemed, pleased with the praise she was being given, but it dropped when Hotaru sniggered and threw the book back at her. "Shame it's only useful for this game and nothing more."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean no two games are ever the same with these dicks. You think they're going to follow one thing and them bam, next game they go completely opposite and pin you down before you get a chance to get back up."

"I don't understand, the data suggests..."

"The only thing you have right in your data is that Jo is in defence. Jo's always in defence but she does come forward to take three point shots from the centre line if necessary. Ishimura switches between the two periodically and half the time you don't even know which she's playing as and neither does she. Shira is rarely asked to hang back in defence, only doing so if Jo's in trouble. Meyer will be wherever the fuck she needs to be and Takami spends more time analysing her opponents than actually playing, hence why she is in offence and the shooter. They are the only things that can be relied on in a game and even then, sometimes they go fuck it and do whatever the hell they want," Hotaru snapped over her shoulder. She didn't want to have to explain anything to Momoi but if the girl was going to keep trying to decipher the way the girls played she would be irritating for the rest of the game. The only time they were predictable was when they were up against an opponent that knew they could defeat easily, like Touou or Kaijo's girl team. The only interesting games they had was when they were up against opponents they weren't so sure off, but those games were narrowed down to pretty much Shutoku and Yosen, and Yosen had already been kicked out.

"To change their play completely would require them to..."

"Change their positions? Yeah, they do if Saka's playing Jo's spot. Fuck, Shira's a pain in the ass when she's in centre, she moves around a lot more than Jo can and she makes sure her presence is known."

"What about their small forward, the one who steals the balls?"

"You mean Ishimura? The most painful of them all. If Meyer sicks her onto you, you're not fucking touching that leather for the rest of the game. They can take out a team's ace no problem thanks to that bitch," Hotaru growled. Momoi leant back, shrinking into her seat and Imayoshi looked to Hotaru out the corner of his eye. She didn't like a lot of people, but Ishimura was a name that came up in conversation a lot when it came to Iwozuka. Imayoshi was surprised about the level of pure, pitch black hatred Hotaru harboured for the small forward, but he didn't comment on it. For whatever reason Hotaru hated Ishimura for was completely her own.

...

"They were so amazing, didn't you think so Sempai? They were behind and then suddenly, they were winning!" Kise cheered as he walked out of the stadium. He was humming happily, thinking about how the girls were good just like Kazuki had told them. Kasamatsu was walking along beside him, shaking his head as Kise's excited behaviour before sticking his hands in his pockets.

"We have to go Kise, training."

"I know, I know, I just, ah, wouldn't it be fun to play them?" Kise chirped, beaming as he considered it. He wouldn't go too hard on them of course, but it would be so much fun to...

"Ugh, such a let down. I was expecting Touou to put up more of a fight." Kise and looked up to the pair in front of them as the conversation cut into their thoughts. They were a pair of female players, considering what they were wearing. One was dressed in a Rakuzan uniform, the other in Yosen. They both looked like first years and Kise frowned. He thought that had been a rather good game considering Iwozuka's sudden come back.

"Yeah, I was hoping to see Touou push back hard like their male team, but nothing!"

"I just wanted to see the Queens play properly. Now it's only two games they try and even then," the Rakuzan player sighed, tugging on her ponytail. The Yosen nodded, rubbing her chin before looking up to her companion.

"Did you hear the rumour though?"

"Huh, what rumour?"

"I heard Iwozuka girls played Shutoku boys and defeated them." Immediately Kise's ears pricked up and he nudged Kasamatsu's ribs. His friend elbowed him back hard, giving him a glare but Kise just nodded ahead to the girls, realising his captain had tuned the girls conversation out of his thoughts.

"That's no surprise though, Shutoku's play has relied a lot on Midorima Shintarou right? All Meyer had to do was stick Ishimura on guarding him and voila, points for Iwozuka."

"I guess you're right," the Yosen sighed again, letting her pony tail go as she looked up to the roof. Kise wanted to ask them a lot more questions, specifically about the Shutoku game, but he knew they didn't know a lot and besides, those had just been rumours. No way Midorima would have lost to the Iwozuka girls. "You know what would be good?"

"Huh? What?"

"If the Queens played Yosen boys, or even Rakuzan. They'd teach them a thing or two."

"You're joking right? Akashi-Sempai is insane!"

"Yeah, but don't forget who the Queens are. Remember Tachi Rei?" the Shutoku laughed as the Rakuzan's face seem to fall a little. She shook her head, poking her tongue out at the memory brought up by the mention of the name. Kise frowned. Who was Tachi Rei? He had heard the name somewhere before but he couldn't quite remember where from.

"I remember very well, I was at the game remember? I know Tachi got off worse but Ishimura, man she was out cold." Kise leaned forward, wanting more information. Who the hell was Tachi Rei and why was Ishimura knocked out in a game? Had there been a fight, or had an attempt at a trick gone terribly wrong?

"Well, you heard what Asami said though right?"

"I sincerely doubt Ishimura knocked herself out on purpose."

"It would have been a good cover up for what happened though, right? No one would have suspected they did it on purpose!" Yosen protested, shaking her head. The Rakuzan looked like she didn't completely doubt it, but didn't want to completely buy it either. Kise shrunk back as they started talking about their time in middle school. He felt like there had been some big juicy steak right in front of him that had suddenly been ripped away. He pouted, running a hand through his golden hair as he looked back to his Sempai, wondering if he could convince him to run a practice match between Iwozuka girls and Kaijo boys.


	25. Shira's Training

Meyer pulled her jersey off in a swift motion, scurnching it into a ball and throwing it into her opened bag. Jo was sitting on the bench beside her, rubbing her calves and wincing slightly. Although towards the end of the match she didn't move around too much (Ishimura and Shira did a good job in keeping the ball away from the hoop), she'd already pushed herself pretty hard.

"You going to be all right?" Meyer questioned, looking to Jo out the corner of her eye as she picked up deoderant. She shook the can around as Jo looked up to her, shrugging her shoulders.

"I think so, it's going to be a pain to walk though."

"I can carry you," Meyer shrugged. She sprayed the deoderant all over herself before throwing it to Jo. The centre caught it easily, taking her own jersey off before promptly spraying herself. Ishimura was getting changed on the otherside of the locker room, Shira only having ducked in to get her stuff before running out, explaining her mum needed her at work and she couldn't be late. Takami mentioned how Shira was having to help her mum out a lot more, but she was only greeted with grunts indicating they had heard her speak.

"Hey, what do you think was bothering Shira?" Ishimura questionned, looking over her shoulder as she pulled a shirt over her head. She spun on her heels, not really bothered to switch out of her trainers and shorts, frowning. Takami looked around the otherside of the lockers, tapping her chin as she walked around. Meyer always wondered how she managed to get changed so quickly out of her on court uniform and her tracksuit.

"As I said before, she's helping her mum out a lot, more than usual anyway."

"You think something might be up there?" Meyer asked, grabbing her school shirt and pulling it on. Takami shrugged whilst Ishimura grabbed her jacket, hastily pulling it on.

"I'll call Arisu, find out if something's wrong. It does get busier for them in winter anyway." Ishimura pulled her phone out of her pocket, dialling Arisu's number. Jo groaned, resting her face in her hands as she knew what would be coming if Arisu was getting busy. She had a habit of drawing the team in to work for her during the busier seasons, although Meyer didn't really seem to have a problem the work cutting into their training. After all, they were building up strength they otherwise wouldn't.

"I really do not feel like going home smelling like rice," Takami grumbled, scratching the side of her head before slumping down onto the bench beside Jo. Despite their protests to working for Arisu, they all did enjoy their time there. It was fun, being bale to joke around with their friends and Arisu had promised that she would give them all great references if they ever needed it.

"Hi _Oba_, it's Yuki. I was wondering if you needed any help at the re... oh, really? Yeah no problem, I'll pass on the message. Okay yeah, I'll see you Wednesday, bye." Ishimura closed her phone before turning on her heels, her cheeks slightly red. She crossed her arms over her chest, shaking her head. "Arisu told me she's hired some new people so it's all right, and Shira hasn't needed to work there since we got back."

"But she said in training that..."

"Yeah," Ishimura interrupted Takami, "but I'm more interested in what Shira's getting up to."

...

"Can't you find a different court to play on?" Shira grinned slightly as she heard the familiar baratone voice behind her. She looked over her shoulder, shrugging her shoulders at a scowling Aomine, before turning and shooting a point. She jumped into the air and punched it happily, grinning before racing forward to pick the ball up. Aomine was faster, he bolted past her and picked the ball up before she even got close, holding it behind his back. "Because seriously, coming here all the time is starting to piss me off."

"I like this court."

"Why can't you like another court?"

"Got good ground," Shira shrugged, kicking at the asphalt. Aomine rolled his eyes, pulling the ball from his bakc and shooting a careless hoop. Shira rolled her eyes, going to collect the ball but Aomine's arm shot out, right in front of her face, making her stop quickly.

"I'm being serious, you piss me off."

"It's not my intention, I swear." Aomine sniffed, obviously not believing her. She didn't blame him, because that was the main reason she came to this court. He amused the hell out of her and she couldn't help it. The fact that she'd said it with a cheesy grin on her face and her voice going softer than usual probably didn't help either.

"Go find another court."

"Oh I'm sorry, am I putting a strain you beating yourself?"

"Go to hell."

"I've been, they didn't like me much." Shira ducked under his arm and picked up her ball, turning but Aomine had followed her. He was right in front of her, so close that they were almost touching and Shira frowned. If he was trying the intimidation factor it would have worked a lot more if his cheeks hadn't turn a slight shade of rose.

"Seriously, fuck off."

"You really think you can make me?"

"You don't want to know what I could do to you," Aomine growled, his eyes flickering to lower on her face before glaring back at her eyes. Shira's lip curled, letting the ball rest on her hip as she put her palm over her mouth, letting out a loud yawn and rolling her eyes.

"Please, I'm terrified, you're so scary, don't do that," Shira bit back her laugh as she replied in her best 'Kuroko voice'. It was a habit she and Jo had picked up lately, whenever they wanted to be completely passive they would speak in a completey monotonous voice and keep their eyes kind of blank. The amount of times Ishimura had hit the back of their heads because of it was astounding.

"Aominechii!"

"Fuck what was that screech?" Shira winced, rubbing her ear as Aomine winced. They both looked to the entrance of the court in time to see a golden hair teen sprinting towards them. Aomine groaned, stepping out of the way just as the teen launched himself, sending him into Shira. Shira put her right foot back, taking the impact before shoving him back hard, sending him to the ground.

"Wah, so mean!" he started sulking and Shira crossed her arms over her chest, one eyebrow raised. Scratch that, this guy wasn't a teenager, he was a toddler in disguise. Hell, he was acting like Satoshi for goodness sake.

"What do you want Kise?"

"I saw you two playing and I wanted to join in," Kise sulked as he stood before getting a good look at Shira. His mouth dropped open and he pointed to her, chattering excitedly as he look to Aomine. "IsawherplaytodaytheywerereallygoodAominechiiyouhavetoletmeplay!"

"Does he stop to take a breath?" Shira questioned, leaning in close to Aomine so the blonde puppy wouldn't hear. He was still chattering, talking about the game Shira had played earlier against Touou girls and he even started adding a few motions into his story. Aomine looked like he was in hell as he stepped back, away from the pair.

"Kise! What are you doing! I told you to wait outside the..." Shira looked up to see someone running towards them. She frowned before realising exactly who it was and her cheeks grew slightly red when she recognized him. She stepped back, looking him up and down before scratching the back of her head. When he caught sight of her his voice trailed off as his own cheeks grew red and he looked to Kise incredibly irritated. Kasamatsu Yukio, captain of Kaijo and - wait this meant that it was Kise Ryouta. Shira almost smacked herself on the forehead when she realised that she was standing in front of two miracle and an extremely gifted point guard. Hell, how much had both Saka and Meyer gone on and on about his skills?

"Sempai," Kise whined only to be kicked in the side. Shira wanted to cheer but she just stuck her hands deep into the pockets of her tracksuit. She felt very overwhelmed by Kasamatsu's presence and she didn't quite know how to handle it. "Wah, that hurt. But look, it's the power forward from Iwozuka!"

"My name's Shira Tamiko," Shira growled, irritated that she had been referred to by her position. Kise picked up on her irritation and delivered a smile her way. It only made her more agitated and she fought the urge to smack him around the head like she would have if it had been Ishimura or Jo.

"Ah, so nice to meet you! I'm Kise Ryouta and this is..."

"Kasamatsu Yukio, yeah I know," Shira interrupted, holding up her hand to shut Kise up. His voice seemed to grate against her brain and she was starting to lose her politeness. She had been hanging around Ishimura for far too long. Kasamatsu on the other hand looked to her, slightly embarassed if his red cheeks were anything to go by. Shira tilted her head as he started to lose his overwhelming presence on her. "Meyer and Saka are pretty big fans of yours."

"Saka? Kazuki's girlfriend?" Kise questionned as he scratched the back of his head. Shira looked to him, her eyes slightly wide and her breath caught in her throat. What the fuck was he talking about?

"Kazuki's what now?"

"We m-met them a-a-at the court and they l-looked pretty close," Kasamatsu answer in Kise's place. Shira frowned at him, she was pretty certain he didn't normally stutter and wait - was he shaking? She leant back, slightly worried he was going to be sick but she didn't comment on it in any way. After years with Saka she knew mentioning it in any way, even after it had settled, could and most likely would make it all the worse.

"Well yeah knew that much, but they're not going out."

"Are you sure? Because they looked - ow!" Kise whined when Shira boxed him on the ear. She didn't even do it that hard but by the look on his face it looked like she had ripped his damn ear off. She was about to tell him off when he looked to Aomine, who had been hovering around enjoying Shira getting irritated with Kise. "Aominechii, you're girlfriend's so mean!"

"I'm not dating this bitch!"

"Do I look desperate!"

"But you look so cute and - ow, don't hit me!" Kise whined when Shira punched him in his side. Kise stepped back so he was behind Kasamatsu, almost as though he was hiding from Shira so she couldn't hit him again. She was more than ready to hit him again but his phone started ringing. All events earlier seemed to disappear as his eyes started to sparkle. "Kurokochii's calling me! Come on Sempai, let's leave the two loves alone!"

Kise grabbed Kasamatsu's arm and started dragging him off the court, but he didn't get far before Shira ditched the ball over the court. It hit him, hard, in the middle of his back between his shoulder blades, making him stumble and almost fall to the ground. She swear she heard him crow 'so mean' and she was tempted to chase after him but instead she just crossed her arms over his chest and letting out a huff.

"You Generation of Miracles are fucking annoying."

"Maybe it's just you."

"Hey, I've met five of you now and I like one."

"Oh yeah, who's that?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya," Shira purposefully drew Kuroko's name out, watching Aomine's reaction carefully. He let out a huff and started jogging forward to pick up Shira's ball. She smirked a little before shaking her head. That had been a lie, mostly. She didn't mind Midorima and Aomine was amusing in his own right, but the purple haired giant had scared the absolute shit out of her when he chased her down the streets of Akita after she accidentally knocked a box of pocky from his hands and then stepped on them. If it hadn't been for that incredibly good looking friend of his...

"I didn't know you'd met Kuroko."

"I'm surprised you haven't questioned the other two."

"I heard you played Shutoku," Aomine shrugged, turning her ball over in his hands. He was surprised at how smooth the leather was, as though Shira practiced continously with this one particular ball. She held out her hand waiting for it back before he looked up at her.

"Yeah and the other one chased me through Akita. I thought he was going to kill me, can you give me my ball back?"

"You shouldn't practice with a bald ball. It's useless now, you should throw it out," Aomine replied, not looking up from the ball in his hands. He turned it around again before looking around, wondering if he could get it in a trash can from where he was. He heard Shira make a strangled noise and looked to her, feeling his chest tighten slightly.

The look on Shira's face was indescribable. She looked like she was about ready to throw a fit but at the same time it looked like she wanted to cry. She snatched the ball out of Aomine's hands, tucking it safely under her arm and she turned away, stomping over to where an Iwozuka ball had sat. Aomine watched her stomp over, wondering what he had said. He didn't care if he pissed her off, but he didn't particularly like the look on her face and it made him feel like whenever he caught Momoi crying.

"I can play with whatever fucking ball I want!" Shira snapped over her shoulder as she carefully put the ball into her bag. Aomine's feet started moving before he gave them permission to and he felt a bit horrible, like when he'd gotten so angry at Momoi keeping him out of the game he'd said things he didn't mean. He'd searched for her for half the night, thanking the stars above him for Kuroko.

"Hey, I didn't mean..."

"You can't just tell someone to throw a ball out because it isn't how _you _like to play, _Ahomine_!" Shira snapped, not looking over her shoulder to Aomine. He scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to approach her if she was upset. Momoi he would just pull into a hug and lift her off the ground, refusing to put her back down until she said she forgave him, but he figured Shira would kick the shit out of him if he tried that.

"Shira, I'm..."

"You stupid dumbass of a ganguro!"

"Damn it Shira, I'm trying to say I'm sorry!" Aomine shouted he gripped Shira's arm, whipping her around to face him. He winced backwards, seeing that she had the same steely gaze the day after the party. He let her go, figuring it would be better to let her storm off and have a hissy fit away from him, that way he wouldn't be caught in the firing line.

"Yeah, sorry because you're such an idiot." Shira pulled her bag over her shoulder and stormed off from the court. She felt more insults and swears bubbling up in her throat, but her chest was starting to tighten and her eyes were starting to water. _Stupid ass Ahomine_ Shira growled in her head. She wanted to stay completely and utterly furious at his stupid and hideous suggestion, but as soon as she stepped out of the court she knew that she had no right to go completely off at Aomine like she had. He didn't know, didn't know how much those words had stung her when he'd said them, but he didn't know. Her hands slipped into her bag, running gently along the bald leather and she let out a sigh. He would never know.


	26. Character Profiles

_Someone asked for me to put the profiles of the characters up, so this is information about the girls and some of the other OC's I created for the story._

* * *

_**Queens of the Court**_

_Recognised members are Meyer Victoria, Jo Kida, Takami Annaisha, Shira Tamiko, Ishimura Yuki and Saka Kiko. _

_The Queens of the court have been undefeated since they were nine, when the club was created. _

_The general on court players are Meyer, Jo, Ishimura, Takami and Shira with Saka in reserve. _

_All Queens of the Court can speak English, but only Meyer and Jo can speak it fluently. _

_All the girls agreed to go to schools that had no previous female basketball club so they didn't have to worry about working their way to first string and also so they could continue playing together. _

_The teams game play is mostly unpredictable._

_The team has three three-point shooters who can get it in from the centre line. These are Meyer, Jo and Takami. _

_They are well known through the female side of basketball, but are hardly recognised by the males and tend to be mocked. _

_Each Queen is capable of entering the 'zone', except for Saka. However, as they are rarely pushed, this is very rare. _

_They are not fans of the Generation of Miracles, especially Akashi Seijuro, because of how they treated their opposition in middle school. _

_Meyer does not like completely destroying the opposition and often does not allow the girls to score fifteen points above the opposition as she does not want the players to hate the game. This mentality has earned them some level of respect from most teams. _

**Meyer Victoria, Point Guard, Coach and Captain of Iwozuka Girls Basketball Team**

Meyer has fair skin, grey eyes and light brown hair.

Meyer lives with her French mother Adora Meyer (nee Moreau), her American father Don Meyer and her younger brother Jean.

The Meyer's live in Japan because Don Meyer grew up there and wanted his children to as well.

Meyer can speak English, French and Japanese fluently.

Meyer met Jo Kida when they were in kindergarten. She considers Jo to be her best friend.

She taught all of the team how to play the basics.

She also taught them how to speak English.

Meyer is the second oldest in Iwozuka.

If Meyer weren't in the basketball club, she'd be playing baseball.

Her favourite colour is green.

Meyer, like Jean, is a talented singer.

She stands at one 164 cm.

Meyer has an unparalleled agility against the team's she has played, being able to shift her centre of gravity. This allows her to break out of 'ankle breaks'.

Meyer can change the direction she is heading midair.

Meyer is capable of jumping high but because of her height this skill is often nullified if her opponent is jumping as well.

Meyer switches between offensive and defensive positions during a game.

**Jo Kida, Centre and Vice Captain of Iwozuka Girls Basketball Team**

Jo has naturally dark hair but bleaches it blonde. Her eyes are light brown and her skin is darker than her team mates because she tans very easily.

Jo lives with her mother and father and doesn't have any siblings, though she views Jean as her brother because she's known him for most of her life.

Jo can speak English almost fluently after growing up close with Meyer.

Jo is the second youngest in Iwozuka.

Jo can play the piano exceptionally well.

She would be in the music club if she didn't play basketball.

Jo is quite shy around new people and occasionally comes off as arrogant if she isn't with her friends.

She is self conscious about her towering height.

Jo stands at 202 cm, but everyone rounds it down to 200.

Jo let's the younger siblings of her team mates to sit/stand on her shoulders so they can dunk the ball. She does this for shorter players and has done so for Meyer.

Jo has the lowest stamina of the team because of her height and because of this she falls back into defensive positions for most of the games.

**Shira Tamiko, Power Forward of Iwozuka Girls Basketball Team**

Shira dyes her hair different colours every other week because she can. Her eyes are dark brown.

Shira lives with her mother, Arisu. Her father died when she was ten.

Shira was the last person Meyer managed to convince to join the basketball team. She had to be bribed with nail polish.

Halfway through their second year of middle school, Shira was the shortest in the team until she had a sudden growth spurt during a holiday in London.

Because of her growth spurt, Shira has stretch marks along her back and they are referred to as her 'tiger stripes'. She enjoys showing them off.

Shira loves her height, standing at 190cm.

She is the middle of the Iwozuka girls, five days older than Jo.

Shira is considered the 'flirt' of the girls, however she very rarely dates any of the boys she meets.

Shira enjoys dunking the ball into the hoop and has a habit of 'smashing' the ball into the net.

Basketball is the only club she is interested in, and if she weren't playing she wouldn't be in any other club.

Shira can sing well like Meyer.

Shira dislikes wearing shoes.

**Takami Annaisha, Shooting Guard of Iwozuka Girls Basketball Team**

Takami has very dark brown eyes that look almost black, as well as incredibly dark hair that reaches halfway down her back.

Takami lives with her mother and her father. She has an older brother Yuichi who lives in Hong Kong.

Takami can, within minutes of playing an opposing team, pick out the strengths and weaknesses in the players abilities, as well as any previous injuries the player had sustained.

Takami is 179 cm tall.

She can play the guitar and was taught by her brother.

Takami enjoys playing basketball from a psychological point of view and does not run around as much as the other girls.

Takami, like Midorima Shintarou, has a pin point accuracy when shooting. The only difference is Takami can only shoot from the centre line inwards.

Takami is often found texting someone on her phone, but the recipient of these messages are unknown.

Takami used to have a crush on Meyer when they were in middle school and often gets teased by Shira and Ishimura Yuki because of it.

Takami is the smartest of the team out of the court.

**Ishimura Yuki, Small Forward of Iwozuka Girls Basketball Team**

Ishimura has black hair cut short except for her fringe which reaches down below her eyes and sits to the side. Her eyes are a mossy green colour.

Ishimura lives with her mother, father and three younger brothers Hiruko (ten), Satoshi (seven) and Gou (three). She used to have a twin sister who passed away from SIDS.

Ishimura was the product of a teen pregnancy, her mother was sixteen and her father nineteen.

Ishimura is the second fastest player of the team, second to Meyer.

Ishimura is the youngest in the team and she stands at 182 cm.

If Ishimura weren't in the basketball club, she'd be on the track team.

Ishimura suffers from Insomnia and often goes for midnight runs, against her mothers wishes. She also suffers from kleptomania and has a habit of taking other peoples things, however this has relented as she grew older.

Ishimura's favourite colour is red.

She consistantly wears a red bandana on her wrist and has done so since she was twelve. When on the court or studying, she uses it to pull her fringe out of her eyes.

Ishimura needs glasses to read.

Ishimura is exceptional at stealing the ball and interception.

She is a fan of Seirin and takes their losses personally.

Ishimura is both the most aggressive and stubborn player in Iwozuka.

**Saka Kiko, Captain and Power Forward of Dojimazaki Junior High Girls Basketball Team**

Saka has light brown hair and brown eyes. Her skin is lightly tanned from playing in the sun a lot.

She lives with her mother as her father travels for work. Her older sister works with him and is often away from home as well.

Saka suffers from a stutter when she's nervous or uncomfortable.

Takami and Jo often train Saka to shoot three pointers from the centre line.

Saka is refered to as Ki-Chan by Kazuki Katsuo.

Saka used to follow Meyer around before joining the team in elementary school.

Saka is only considered to be a 'Queen' when is playing with the official team. Because of this, she is the only one to have suffered a defeat without it hindering the Queen's flawless record.

Shira tends to blush when is around someone of the opposite gender.

Shira learnt to play the ukelele at Ishimura's request, purely because the latter thought it would be funny for her to say she could play it.

Saka is 180 cm tall.

**Family and Friends**

**Jean Meyer, Dojimazaki Junior High**

Jean is Meyer's younger brother. He chares her light hair and grey eyes.

Jean detests being called Meyer, preffering people to call him by his first name.

Jean was taught to play basketball by Meyer and during his first year of middle school was going to surpass her and her teams skills.

Jean was part of Dojimazaki Junior High's basketball club and was on first string in his first year.

Two weeks before his team was set to play Teiko in the prelimenaries he was hit by a car, resulting in him loosing his left leg from below the knee.

Jean is quite close with all of the Queens, but especially to Jo and Shira.

Jean is quite good friends with Kiyoshi Teppei and looks up to him like a brother after spending months in hospital with him. He taught Kiyoshi some card games.

Jean can make Meyer do whatever he wants and often makes her piggyback him around the house.

Jean is fourteen and stands at 173 cm.

**Kazuki Katsuo, Captain and Power Forward of Iwozuka Boys Basketball Team**

Kazuki is 186 cm tall.

His hair is dark brown and his eyes are dark blue.

He is good friends with the female basketball club but struggles with Jo.

Kazuki is closest to Meyer and Shira, but only Meyer calls him Katsuo.

Kazuki has a crush on Saka, but is unsure of how to approach her because of how shy she is.

Kazuki is a second year.

Kazuki's team was defeated drastically by Seirin, but claims he wasn't bother because most of the boys play for fun and nothing more.

Kazuki was good friends with Kasamatsu Yukio in middle school as they played together.

Through basketball he has become friends with many different teams.

Kazuki is incredibly friendly, but when he gets angry at someone he will hold a grudge for a long time.

**Katsumi Ai, Captain and Centre of Shutoku Girls Basketball Team**

Katsumi created the Girls Basketball Team at Shutoku.

Katsumi has played against the Queens of the Court since they were in primary school.

She both admires and despises the team when they are playing.

Katsumi is one of the few people Victoria plays all out with and can push Victoria to try her hardest.

Katsumi is a skilled all rounder, only being placed as Centre because she was the tallest in the team.

Katsumi gets along really well with both Meyer and Ishimura.

Katsumi, like Jo, can tell when Meyer is really trying or not in a game.

Katsumi is volatile when playing against the Queens and when she plays against Meyer they can get a little rough in their plays.

Katsumi is unafraid to admit she admires the Queens.

Katsumi is good friends with Takao Kazunari, they went to middle school together.

Katsumi is always looking to play the Queens no matter what and has Meyer and Jo's numbers.

Katsumi is taller than Shira at 192 cm.

**Hotaru Ren, Vice Captain and Small Forward of Shutoku Girls Basketball Team **

Hotaru has played against the Queens of the Court since Primary School.

High school is the first year Hotaru as has played with Katsumi.

Hotaru and Ishimura dislike one another but are often matched against each other because Hotaru can match Ishimura's speed.

In middle school Hotaru forced Ishimura to be benched after injurying her wrist on court, though she suffered a concussion after Ishimura punched her because of it.

It is often commented that Hotaru would fit in better at Kirisaki Dai Ichi than at Shutoku.

Hotaru used to go to the same middle school as Hanamiya Makoto and Imayoshi Shoichi, sharing an on-again-off-again relationship with the latter.


	27. Missing The Match

"If we miss the end I'm going to kill you!" Shira scolded as the girls sprinted as fast as they could down the street. Jo was beside her, panting and obvious irritated that they were even attempting to keep up with Ishimura and Meyer. They were about six metres in front of the pair and the distance was only growing larger. Takami was in between the two duos, flicking her gaze back to Shira and Jo occasionally but she turned back to watch where she was going.

It was the day of Seirin's game against Shutoku, and they had all been held up for various reasons. Meyer had, at the last minute, needed to go out with her mother, Ishimura had been guilted into babysitting and one of Shira's mum's workers had called in sick so she had to cover their shift. Jo and Takami had simply lost track of time studying and didn't realise they had to get moving until Ishimura called them to apologise for being late to the game.

"We'll make it for the end, it's all right!" Jo muttered as she pushed forward. Shira kind of wished they had hired a taxi because sprinting wasn't exactly something she was enjoying all too much at the moment, her wrists were sore and her feet were aching from being on them for the better part of four hours.

"Yeah, we'll make it for the last fucking five minutes if that!" Ishimura growled as she pressed faster. She managed to overtake Meyer for about ten steps before the Captain returned to holding the lead, pressing her legs harder and sending her barreling in front of Ishimura. Right now Ishimura couldn't care less for a race, she just wanted to get in and see how Seirin was holding up, although for the first time she was kind of stuck between who to cheer for. She wanted both Shutoku and Seirin to win.

"Hey, wait up you two!" Ishimura glanced over her shoulder to see her and Meyer were leaving the others behind with each step they took. On any other day Ishimura would have given a shit, btu today was not one of those days.

"We'll meet you at the stadium!" Meyer shouted over her shoulder as she and Ishimura pressed themselves to run faster, turning a corner and bolting even faster than they had before.

...

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Ishimura panted as she and Meyer shouldered the doors to the stadium open. There was a woman in the foyer who turned to see the girls breeze past her, each bolting for the closest door to the courts. They barrelled through until they caught sight of Shutoku and Seirin, Ishimura almost tripping over someones foot as they looked for the score.

"Shit, this doesn't look good," Meyer hissed. Ishimura looked to her out the corner of her eye, wondering when she exactly she became so invested in Seirin winning, but settled that to Kiyoshi playing. The same Kiyoshi who was now taking a penalty shot and looking rather nervous. Meyer ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes narrowing as she focused on Kiyoshi. He didn't look good. Kiyoshi managed to get the first shot in and Meyer let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. "Come on Kiyoshi."

"Easy shot for him, he should be able to get it in," Ishimura commented, tilting her head to the side. Meyer wasn't so sure as her gaze narrowed in on his knees. There was something definitely wrong right now and she could pin it down to the fact that he had pushed himself too hard too early. She wanted to run down to the court and tell him he was an idiot, but she remained silent, watching as he lined up his second free throw. There was little to no time left on the clock, Kiyoshi needed to get this is in.

Meyer sucked in a deep breath as the ball was released from Kiyoshi's hands and sailed into the air, heading for the basket. Ishimura tensed as they both watched the ball, both already knowing that it was going to miss it's mark. The orange leather sphere bounced off the ring and the players flurried forward. Otsubo and Miyaji were already in the air, hands reaching for the ball and Meyers leant forward, her fingers clenching into tight fists. No, not after everything Seirin couldn't lose, she couldn't bare for that to happen to Kiyoshi, he would never forgive himself. She winced, waiting for either of the third years to snatch the ball away when suddenly Kagami was in the air, rising faster than they could manage. He snatched the ball away from Shutoku falling back to his feet before jumping up, lining up to shoot but Midorima was in front of him.

"Seirin won't get the point," Meyer breathed as Kagami and Midorima seemed to just linger in the air, both hands on the ball and at a complete stalemate. The siren ended for the end of game, resulting in the ball to be pushed aimlessly in the air and the two players to land back on the ground.

"They drew. It's a tie. Neither won," Ishimura sighed, scratching the back of her head as she looked around. She wanted both Shutoku and Seirin to advance into the Winter Cup so in a way she was pleased with this outcome, but also felt pretty disappointed. From the look on everyone elses face it had been an intense game, and she'd missed it because of an impromptu hair fiasco and an emergency in the ER. Granted her father couldn't help it but her mother, seriously?

"Neither lost. Best outcome for you," Meyer commented, her gaze flickering to Ishimura. The latter let out a small chuckle before she shuffled on her feet. Meyer sighed, glancing back to the teams who were now lining up opposite one another and rocked her shoulders back. She turned on her heel and started walking out. Ishimura glanced over to watch her leave before shrugging her shoulders, turning back to the game.

It was surprising that she had agreed to come watch the game in the first place, even after being held up with her mother, so Ishimura wasn't surprised she was leaving already. She leant forward again, watching as Midorima spoke to Seirin and Takao walked over. Tilting her head to the side she felt someone lay their hand on her shoulder, making her jump about a foot in the air.

"Whoa, calm down Ishimura," Kazuki laughed, stepping back as he waved his hands around, his fingers spread and his palms facing her. Ishimura let out a scowl, about ready to yell that he shouldn't sneak up on people inclined to smack him but instead turned around, rolling her eyes.

"Please tell me it was a shit game and one that I could have afforded missing," Ishimura threw over her shoulder instead. People were beginning to stand out of their seats and wander towards the exits but she wasn't quite ready to leave just yet.

"You should have watched it." Ishimura groaned, rubbing her eyes with the fleshy part of her palm as she swore in her mind. She was going to kill her mother, she was going to and there was nothing that may be able to stop her from doing so. To say she was displeased with missing the match was a heavy understatement but she settled that she at least had managed to catch the last few seconds.

...

"Ano, Meyer-San?" Meyer looked up from her phone, seeing Kuroko standing in front of her. Meyer didn't know how long she had been outside the stadium for, hoping to catch a lonesome Kiyoshi, but seeing Kuroko let her know she may have missed her chance. She delivered him a small smile before her gaze flickered to the creature he was holding in his arms. Her eyebrows raised as she looked from the puppy to Kuroko, then back to the puppy again.

"That isn't weird or anything," she mumbled under her breath as she pushed herself off the wall she had been leaning on, reaching out to let the puppy sniff her fingers. He seemed hesitant but then tentatively licked her finger tips before letting out what she hoped to be a cheery yap. "He's a cutie, that's for sure. What's his name?"

"We call him Nigou. Did you watch us play against Shutoku?" Kuroko asked as Meyer started petting Nigou gently. The malamute pushed his head against her palm as she ruffled his fur. She looked back to him, shrugging her shoulders lazily.

"We were meant to, but we all were caught up. Yuki and I managed to catch the last minute of the game."

"Oh," Kuroko frowned, like he was a little disappointed they had missed the game. Meyer tilted her head to the side and delivered him another smile. The same one she usually gave to Jean if she ever missed his game by accident.

"But next week we're going to make sure we'll be there. It should be an interesting game. Kirisaki Dai Ichi aren't an easy team to play." Meyer was dreading the next game. She was terrified for Seirin, for Kiyoshi and now she was beginning to worry about Kuroko. Before she hadn't really spent a lot of time talking to him, so she had no idea how small he was compared to the other basketballers. Not that being shorter had anything to do with ability, Meyer herself knew that well enough, but he just seemed more fragile compared to the others. She grit her teeth as her chest constricted, her mind beginning to wonder what might happen to him when he comes face to face with Hanamiya Makoto.

"It will be difficult, but we will succeed. I do not doubt my team," Kuroko smiled as Nigou pulled away from Meyer, licking his masters chin. Kuroko let out a small smile before ruffling the puppies fur, looking quite sure of himself. Meyer smiled as well. She didn't doubt Seirin, but she didn't doubt Hanamiya either.

"I'd wish you luck Kuroko, but I don't think you'll need it," Meyer smiled as she thought they need body armour instead. She reached out, ruffling his hair lightly and ignoring the pointedly irritated look on his face. "But we'll be there next game."

"I believe Seirin would be pleased. I believe Kagami-Kun wants you to see him play at his best so you will consider playing Seirin."

"We'll see how you guys go during the Winter Cup," Meyer let out a laugh as she pulled her hand away from Kuroko, who smiled happily. Meyer already knew that he believed they would win, why wouldn't he? Seirin weren't a weak team and now with the addition of Kiyoshi as centre they were always improving. Not to mention that Ishimura had been meeting up with him occasionally to help him train. Meyer never mentioned that she knew but she figured that it wasn't hurting anyone nor the training that Riko had intended for her team. "Well I best be off, I _did _promise Jean I would play Halo with him and he'll be waiting for me. See you next time Kuroko, and I hope to see you as well cutie!"

Nigou let out a happy yap, struggling to reached forward and lick Meyer's hand but she turned away, sticking her hands deep in her pockets as she begun walking back in the general direction of her home. Her eyes focused on the ground as memories of a game long ago sprung into mind. If she closed her eyes she would still be able to smell the blood, hear Tachi screaming in pain and Shira yelling in a high pitched because Ishimura wasn't responding to her. She could still remember the sound Ishimura's head made when it connected with the hard wooden floor of the court, the rip and screech as Tachi fell down after being tangled in her legs.

Meyer was so completely worried about Kiyoshi playing against Kirisaki, against Hanamiya, because she knew how easily the rough play of some sportsmen could turn into something far worse. She knew Hanamiya had intended Kiyoshi to not play again at all. She knew, she knew better than anyone. Shaking her head she ran her fingers through her hair, looking up to the sky as if the clouds held some answers for her. She didn't want any one to play against Kirisaki Dai Ichi ever, but no matter what happened on court Hanamiya was too smart to be caught.

"You look deep in thought." Meyer stopped walking and looked over her shoulder. Hotaru was leaning against the wall of the stadium, one foot against the wall and her shoulders slightly hunched. She was looking at Meyer curiously, her head tilted to one side so her hair fell down pass her shoulders and one eyebrow quirked.

"I was thinking about the Teiko Game in second year."

"An interesting one. Then again all games against Teiko were interesting."

"Almost could've started making bets about who would be injured or not."

"I guess I would have won the pot when Ishimura took Tachi down," Hotaru wove a smile onto her lips as she bounced herself away from the wall using her shoulders. She looked around rather ruefully before her gaze settled back on Iwozuka's captain. "Can't believe I'm saying this but that did earn her a bit of respect."

"Enough that you wouldn't have broken her wrist?" Meyer challenged as she crossed her arms over her chest. Although personally Hotaru had never shown her any sort of disdain or ill contempt, even as far as showing the Captain respect, Meyer could never dismiss the fact that the woman in front of her had injured her team mate, intentionally or not.

"At least Ishimura can still play. I heard Tachi has trouble even running."

"What happened to Tachi was an accident and her own fault. What you did to Yuki..."

"Hotaru! Meyer!" Both girls looked up to see Katsumi running towards them. Meyer glanced back to Hotaru, realising they had both cleared the distance between them throughout their conversation and, to Katsumi, probably looked more than a little hostile to each other. Not that Meyer nor Hotaru would actually go as far as hitting each other, Meyer didn't like violence and Hotaru seemed to enjoy verbal spars with her.

"Hey Katsumi, I was waiting for you where you said."

"Hello Ai," Meyer flicked her friend a smile before rocking her shoulders back. She did not particularly want to stay around because she was sure that Katsumi had her own two cents to add into the conversation and she didn't particularly want to hear it. She nodded a goodbye before walking off, hearing Katsumi questioning Hotaru behind her.


End file.
